tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81544528061805505512019-01-11T19:45:42.857-08:00South Korea Inside Out/Australia Inside OutA perspective of Korea and Australia, an honest East vs West opinion blog now from a new angle, viewing South Korea through the lens of having left and seeing Western culture differently on returning.Smudgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00449129060365290678noreply@blogger.comBlogger128125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8154452806180550551.post-47163090010250685392017-08-03T02:29:00.001-07:002017-08-03T02:32:27.525-07:00The Korean In-Laws in Australia!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eKF4sXqVcV0/WYLtlvPQ9tI/AAAAAAAACuw/xgI4MdaEEE0k5pdLptM9EJrWROnz6XAkACLcBGAs/s1600/Australia.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="474" data-original-width="679" height="278" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eKF4sXqVcV0/WYLtlvPQ9tI/AAAAAAAACuw/xgI4MdaEEE0k5pdLptM9EJrWROnz6XAkACLcBGAs/s400/Australia.PNG" width="400" /></a></div><br />So, my Korean in-laws finally stepped-out of Korea. &nbsp;For the first time in their lives they made it to another country. &nbsp;And I missed it!<br /><br />I was actually really gutted. &nbsp;I had longed planned a big cycle touring trip of Australasia; firstly cycling from Darwin to Melbourne in Australia and then cycling all around New Zealand over a period of about 3 months or so.<br /><br />Unfortunately, this coincided with their trip to see my wife, which occurred fairly last-minute due to my wife having a short gap between jobs. &nbsp;Seeing as my wife had some time-off they jumped at the chance to come visit.<br /><br />I had always looked-forward to observing how my in-laws would react in a Western English-speaking country that was well outside of their comfort zone. &nbsp;My in-laws are both from Suncheon, a smallish city in Jeollanamdo, quite possibly the most rural province in Korea and quite far from the international hubs of Seoul and Busan.<br /><br />In Korea, I was the stumbling, bumbling fool, who got around with limited Korean and was ignorant of a wide variety of cultural practices and things going on around me. Now it was their turn.<br /><br />I wasn't just interested in a bit of schadenfreude, however (although it would have been wonderful), I was actually really curious to see how they'd react to it all. &nbsp;Fortunately, my wife kept me up to date with what was going on.<br /><br />As I suspected, my mother in-law appeared to be quite fascinated with everything and open-minded, especially with regard to food. &nbsp;My father in-law, not so much.<br /><br />The first thing they did after leaving the airport in Melbourne was go to the nearest Korean restaurant, even before going home to freshen up. &nbsp;My wife told me that in the week her father was there, he ate pork belly every single day (this is the cut used in samgyeopsal in Korea), and in the whole time he was there ate nothing but Korean food except on two occasions; once eating a warm jam doughnut at Victoria Market, and one time eating fish and chips while on the Great Ocean Road. &nbsp;Apparently, the fish and chips made him literally sick later on that evening. &nbsp;He was also quite pleased that he could buy an ample amount of soju to wash down the copious amount of pork belly he was consuming.<br /><br />Surprisingly, perhaps, they commented that my wife should not come back to Korea, and that they really liked Australia. &nbsp;Maybe some of this is to do with how successful my wife has been (after a tough 2 years) in Melbourne. &nbsp;They beamed with pride about how my wife works as a surgery room nurse in the most prestigious public hospital in Melbourne, The Alfred. &nbsp;One of their few requests for places to visit was the hospital itself, and they made sure all their friends back home knew about this.<br /><br />Among the things that impressed my father in-law about Australia was the sheer scale of the place and the abundance of open land. &nbsp;On their trip along the Great Ocean Road, my wife said he gazed in fascination out of the window for most of the journey, even when there was little to see. &nbsp;To be fair Australia's wide expanses of flat, baron land must be quite a difference to the lifetime of forested mountains he must have been used to, with cities and buildings squeezed into the flat spaces in between (he should cycle through the centre of the country for a real shock).<br /><br />Of course, the thing that gave him the most joy was the cost of pork belly, which was quite a bit less expensive than Korea. &nbsp;Apparently, the jam doughnut in Victoria Market was the only distraction from him salivating over the cheap choice cuts of pork belly at the butchers there.<br /><br />My mother in-law was taken aback by the number of men she saw pushing prams and carrying babies. &nbsp;She thought this was a great thing, and something she never really saw in Korea. &nbsp;She was also very happy with how politely she was treated by the young men she came into contact with generally. &nbsp;She was less impressed with the women, however, who she perceived as being a little more cold, self-entitled, and uptight than she expected.<br /><br />Another thing that caught her eye was just how individual people were in their sense of style. &nbsp;Melbourne is perhaps an especially noticeable place for things like this, with St Kilda where I live being a particularly eccentric place. &nbsp;She was intrigued about how people mostly didn't give a damn about what they were wearing or how they were acting.<br /><br />My mother in-law stayed on for 2 weeks longer than my father in-law, who had work commitments after one week. &nbsp;She was able to go on an extra trip over to the Grampians, a range of unique-looking mountains a couple of hours North-West of Melbourne. &nbsp;Unfortunately for her, this coach trip was also frequented by a large number of Indians, who were apparently smelling strongly of curry and body odour (I promise you these are her and my wife's words, not mine). &nbsp;Knowing that my wife and my mother in-law are a pair of bloodhounds when it comes to their sense of smell (they have both put me to the sword at times for "Western smell"), and rather intolerant of unwelcome odours, this put a smile on my face while I was cycling through New Zealand. &nbsp;Apparently they moved seats several times to escape the worst of the stench, but to no avail. &nbsp;They were also highly critical of the punctuality of a pair of young German girls who were always late, and the last ones to get on the bus at the end of each stop.<br /><br />Apart from the odd bit of culture shock, like this, however, I was pleasantly surprised about how well they adjusted to such a brave new world. &nbsp;Amazingly, they encouraged my wife not to even visit them in Korea, but just to wait until they visited her in Australia, or even meet up somewhere else in the world. &nbsp;My mother in-law, especially, has always wanted to go to Germany, a place where she dreamed of working as a nurse once (perhaps this is where my wife got her ambitions from).<br /><br />Funnily enough, though, she doesn't have much interest in visiting England, and my hometown in particular. &nbsp;Curiously, this has a lot to do with my mother, who she feels slightly uncomfortable intruding upon, and is convinced that her daughter is not a good daughter in-law as well. &nbsp;Despite numerous attempts to allay her fears on this subject, she is convinced that because my wife did not cook for her and clean the house when we were there (and knowing her character generally), my mother must think ill of her for bringing such a rotten daughter in-law into the world. &nbsp;The truth being to the contrary, that my mother thinks my wife is lovely, and surely wouldn't harbour such thoughts against her mothering skills, and would certainly be delighted to be a host if my mother in-law ever chose to visit.<br /><br />The only problem for my wife is that her brother misses out. &nbsp;He, like many thirty-something Koreans, is tied to a job with a scant amount of holiday time, if any at all, so visiting Australia, or indeed almost anywhere overseas except China and Japan is extremely difficult. &nbsp;I think he really misses his sister.<br /><br />It seems though, as if both my in-laws have caught the travel bug now, they are keen to visit again and to as many countries as possible. &nbsp;With this in mind then, I am sure I will get my wish, and see them out of their comfort zone for myself in the near future.<br /><br />Note: &nbsp;This is a delayed post, as I forgot about it completely. Smudgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00449129060365290678noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8154452806180550551.post-85041891527336315252017-01-27T21:49:00.001-08:002017-01-27T21:49:58.466-08:00Do Koreans Integrate into Australian Society? And Does it Matter?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZFVFhCdtmMg/WIwws7z_dvI/AAAAAAAACfM/cE5K1cJSeBA5H8LJdgSF-IkxWxtcWhl0ACLcB/s1600/Untitled.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="146" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZFVFhCdtmMg/WIwws7z_dvI/AAAAAAAACfM/cE5K1cJSeBA5H8LJdgSF-IkxWxtcWhl0ACLcB/s400/Untitled.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br />Hi everyone, it's been a long time. &nbsp;I keep meaning to post more, but Korea is less relevant to me these days. &nbsp;I still blog, but now it is usually only about cycle touring, which has been a new and exciting hobby I have been doing since coming to Australia.<br /><br />Anyway, I thought I'd address the controversial topics of immigration and integration for my first post since over a year ago, and relate it to Korea to keep things relevant.<br /><br />Firstly, I'll let you know where my bias lies on this topic. &nbsp;I can't speak for other countries, but when it comes to Britain, I think mass immigration is doing a fair amount of harm at the moment, and I am especially concerned about immigration from the Islamic world. &nbsp;Unlike the US, whose Muslim population is comparatively small (proportionately) and whose immigration system usually takes mostly well-qualified and vetted immigrants from the Islamic world. &nbsp;The UK has old ties with countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh, which means we tend to have a fair amount of low-quality immigrants from these nations that do not benefit British society.<br /><br />So how do I tie this in with Korea? &nbsp;Well, I love a comparison, as you may know, so I thought I'd do one here between Korean immigrants to Australia and Muslim immigrants to the UK.<br /><br />My biggest issue with Muslim immigrants to the UK, and perhaps more importantly to other countries in Europe, is that those already there appear to be living solely in their own communities and struggling to integrate, yet still huge numbers are coming in, making assimilation into British and European culture even harder.<br /><br />I am currently living in Melbourne, and I am often struck with amazement cycling my way through the city about just how many East Asians there are. &nbsp;It feels like the ratio is almost 50/50, and filling a percentage of this does appear to be a fair amount of Koreans.<br /><br />Looking at the latest figures I could find, the 2011 census data, the number of Korean-born people in Australia was only about 75 000. &nbsp;Now this doesn't account for those born in Australia of Korean ancestry, but the number is far far less than say Muslims in the UK.<br /><br />However, the key issue I am concerned with is integration. &nbsp;Do Koreans integrate into Australian society? &nbsp;It is a tricky question to answer with statistics alone, so with that in mind, I am going to give my observations of what I have seen in Melbourne through connections with my wife.<br /><br />I like to make things absolutely clear for readers, because I have absorbed a fair amount of criticism on this blog, so what I am about to say is an observation, not a statement of fact (and this has always been the case, and was even written into the description of my blog). &nbsp;I am writing this blog as an observer, not a journalist. &nbsp;I don't have the time to sift through data or interview community leaders. &nbsp;These are my opinions based, not solely, but mainly on my own observations.<br /><br />So, do Koreans integrate? &nbsp;My answer would be largely, no. &nbsp;I find they mainly stick to having Korean friends and associations. You will always find examples of people who do, and I think it is obvious to say that the children of Korean immigrants in the past are far more likely to do so, but in general the Koreans I have met don't really integrate into wider Australian society. <br /><br />What I think you'll find happening more and more in western countries is also that foreign communities will begin to integrate less and less due to the high volumes of their own country men and women coming over. &nbsp;The reason for this is that in the past, the first immigrants had to associate with wider society in a range of areas; for schooling, services, and friendship. &nbsp;However today, increasingly all these things can just be comfortably done within their own communities. &nbsp;For instance, what you'll find in many Muslim dense areas of the UK is that kids go to Islamic schools, you can hire a Muslim plumber, go to a Muslim-owned grocery store, and people only socialise with other Muslims. &nbsp;They might as well be in their own countries.<br /><br />The Korean community in Melbourne often works to my benefit, as I find that having access to them through my wife can be very useful. &nbsp;If I ever want a job done well, I usually hire a Korean. &nbsp;If I need a taxi to the airport, someone to help move house, a builder, a visa agent, etc, I get my wife to look into the Korean community first. &nbsp;I usually find them cheaper, quicker, better quality, easier to get a hold of, and generally less bogged-down in bureaucratic procedures. &nbsp;I am sure they do all these services without the proper government-approved license, but quite frankly, I am glad of that as they are better at what they do as a result.<br /><br />I am not suggesting that this lack of integration is the fault of Korean people (or indeed Muslims) either, I just think this is a bit of a fact of life that, in reality, happens in most foreign communities. &nbsp;After all when in Korea, the same occurs with people from English speaking nations, they all hang around together. &nbsp;The critical thing is, though, does this lack of integration really matter? In the case of Korean people, I think it doesn't.<br /><br />With very few exceptions, Korean people have cultural values which enable them to be excellent newcomers to Western societies. &nbsp;They are hard-working, law abiding, and tolerant of and adaptable to the different way of life that they have migrated into. Many even embrace the ability to throw off the shackles of Korean society and just be themselves. &nbsp;But even if Koreans don't enjoy Western liberalism, individualism, and life in general, they usually just deal with it and get on with their lives without complaint. <br /><br />Perhaps I am just ignorant of any downsides, but I cannot recall any problems Far-Eastern communities have caused in Western countries. &nbsp;I just don't hear of any unrest involving Koreans, Chinese, or Japanese. &nbsp;Individual exceptions again will always crop-up, but they really do seem like rogue individuals, out of sync and unrelated in their behaviour with their wider community.<br /><br />Contrast this with Muslim communities in many Western countries, especially in Europe. Now I know there is a lot of right-wing media out there cooking-up a storm about this, but at least some of it does appear to be quite valid.<br /><br />It isn't just the terrorism, in Britain we have had issues with Muslim rape gangs, tens of thousands of cases of Female Genital Mutilation going completely unprosecuted, and death threats to journalists and public figures for, sometimes the most benign acts of freedom of expression against the prophet Mohammed.<br /><br />Like it or not, there is an extreme side of many inside Muslim communities in the West that not only doesn't integrate, like Koreans, but appears to actually want to defy the laws and customs of the countries they come into and have their own power. &nbsp;They want their own legal system, their own areas, and seek special privileges (especially the right to not have their religion mocked or prophets depicted). &nbsp;On top of this, there looks as though there is an issue with members of the Muslim community not speaking-up against truly unsavoury, dangerous extremists who exist within their communities. This is both out of solidarity with them as fellow Muslims and out of fear of violence against them.<br /><br />From my observations of Koreans and what they say, they don't hold nearly the same fears or feelings of loyalty with fellow Koreans (not to mention their lack of extreme behaviour). &nbsp;Indeed many of them don't want to make too close friends with other Koreans, as they end up facing the same issues with societal pressure just in a different land. &nbsp;For this reason, I am sure there are a number of pretty lonely Koreans in Australia, who find it difficult to make friends with non-Koreans, yet also don't wish to get too close with the Korean community either.<br /><br />I hear a lot of generalisations about immigration, but really we have to be quite specific about it if we want to realistically make multi-culturalism work, if it can work at all. &nbsp;As I have said many times in this blog, culture matters, and different cultures can throw-up different challenges when it comes to living side by side with each other. &nbsp;Some cultures, like Korean culture, can be radically different to ours yet in ways that make them easy to be neighbours with, and some can be different in divisive ways that cause trouble.<br /><br />I think Western culture generally has far more in common with many Islamic cultures than it does with the Far East, but the specific small differences between the West and some Islamic cultures (being general here, I am aware of the many cultures occurring in Islamic countries and indeed the subtle differences in Western countries also), are far more problematic than the big differences between the people of the West and the Far East when it comes to living with each other.<br /><br />These subtleties are always lost when we talk about immigration. &nbsp;Phrases like, "diversity is our strength", or, "immigration benefits our country", are far too broad to get to the heart of the matter. &nbsp;The truth is that sometimes diversity is a good thing and sometimes immigration is of benefit to our countries, and that it very much depends who and where those coming in are from, and in what numbers, as to whether this immigration is of benefit to the economy and society as a whole. &nbsp;I have yet to ever hear this nuance in any debate on the subject.<br /><br />The migrant crisis in Europe would be problematic wherever these people were coming from, but I think it is stating the obvious to say that if we had millions of Koreans flooding into Europe right now, we'd have significantly less troubles than if it was millions of Muslims. &nbsp;Before we can sit down and logically talk about uncomfortable truths such as this, I see no hope for multi-culturalism worldwide, and particularly in Europe, and I do fear for the well-being of my country of birth in the years to come.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.channel4.com/info/press/news/c4-survey-and-documentary-reveals-what-british-muslims-really-think">http://www.channel4.com/info/press/news/c4-survey-and-documentary-reveals-what-british-muslims-really-think</a><br /><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotherham_child_sexual_exploitation_scandal">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotherham_child_sexual_exploitation_scandal</a><br /><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/36838870/the-first-ever-fgm-figures-show-nearly-6000-new-cases-in-england">http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/36838870/the-first-ever-fgm-figures-show-nearly-6000-new-cases-in-england</a><br /><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/liberaldemocrats/10588267/Lib-Dem-candidate-receives-death-threats-for-tweeting-Prophet-Mohammed-cartoon.html">http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/liberaldemocrats/10588267/Lib-Dem-candidate-receives-death-threats-for-tweeting-Prophet-Mohammed-cartoon.html</a><br /><a href="https://www.dss.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/02_2014/korea.pdf">https://www.dss.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/02_2014/korea.pdf</a>Smudgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00449129060365290678noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8154452806180550551.post-7428288260740295382016-03-11T17:21:00.000-08:002016-03-11T17:21:21.862-08:00The Rules of the Road<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XFOHlwWGRZk/VqK0OlnM4jI/AAAAAAAAB0Q/a7QpvKwxRto/s1600/480px-Traffic_Sign_GR_-_KOK_2009_-_R-32_-_40_kph.svg.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XFOHlwWGRZk/VqK0OlnM4jI/AAAAAAAAB0Q/a7QpvKwxRto/s320/480px-Traffic_Sign_GR_-_KOK_2009_-_R-32_-_40_kph.svg.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br />Something that always fascinated me about living in Korea was the strict adherence to cultural rules and laws while at the same time a very loose following of actual state laws and rules. &nbsp;From afar, it looks like Park Geun Hye is setting about trying to control more and more things through the government, yet it is difficult because as I have commented on before, many laws in Korea are selectively followed. &nbsp;The country as a whole appears more governed day to day by cultural do's and don't's with significant others providing the watchful eye of a policeman.<br /><br />It immediately struck me upon returning to the UK and now Australia that the reverse is true; there appears to be fewer consistent cultural rules (although cultural marxism seems to be quite prevalent), but many state rules, regulation, and advice.<br /><br />Laws around general behaviour are infuriatingly abundant here in Melbourne, and makes me wonder whether the state gives any credit to it's citizens at all for being able to live their lives responsibly. &nbsp;A trip to the famous Melbourne Cricket Ground for the Boxing Day Test match reveals this quite starkly. &nbsp;Every 15 minutes you are reminded of the various bad behaviours that can get you ejected from the stadium and heavily fined on the big screen. &nbsp;Popular members of the current Australia cricket team are there to dispense the friendly advice. &nbsp;One shouldn't:<br /><br />- Swear<br />- Drink too much<br />- Throw anything onto the field of play<br />- Go onto the field of play<br />- Abuse officials, players or other spectators<br /><br />Fines ranging from $1000 - $10 000.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FzJGpG4P67A/VqmDOHY5o9I/AAAAAAAAB1A/t7r5iA20aW4/s1600/18415_10206170344680498_6717523685396672397_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FzJGpG4P67A/VqmDOHY5o9I/AAAAAAAAB1A/t7r5iA20aW4/s320/18415_10206170344680498_6717523685396672397_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Fine, all are unpleasant and should be discouraged, perhaps with a message at the start of the game. &nbsp;However, the constant all-day reminders begin to grate on me. &nbsp;Do people not know how to behave already? &nbsp;In Korea, it mostly seemed like people did, crowds of people were in many respects self-policed (lucky as the Korean police force didn't really appear capable of handling big trouble). &nbsp;In the past, I'm sure crowds at cricket grounds we the same; they sometimes ran onto the pitch, sometimes caused trouble, sometimes had a naughty bit of a laugh. &nbsp;No one died, no one was ever really hurt, and people laughed often. &nbsp;There was a behavioural boundary that was well understood and rarely crossed, although occasionally cheekily flirted with, but dealt with in mostly good humour and understood that it was a rare occurrence. &nbsp;Perhaps because of the social status concerns, most of the bad behaviour you heard about in Korea occurred in the shadows.<br /><br /><br />The thing is that these rules do actually seem necessary here; people are more childish and more in need of being told how to behave than I ever remember in the UK in the past, and certainly in Korea. &nbsp;This year I took stock of the number of people escorted out of the MCG stadium by police. &nbsp;After lunchtime it was staggering just how many people fell foul of these rules, despite being reminded ad nauseam by some of their cricketing idols.<br /><br />But it's not just at the cricket ground, rules are everywhere in Melbourne, and on top of that, advice from the government abounds also. <br /><br />Driving my car in Melbourne is a real note of sourness for me, in fact having a car in general is a nuisance. &nbsp;I feel like I come into contact with state laws far more often. Driving is still a useful convenience, but it's like I have a camera on me all the time, just waiting to pounce on any trivial mistake. &nbsp;I don't think this is what law enforcement is all about.<br /><br />I have had 5 speeding fines in Melbourne in 6 months, the first (and worst) written-off as a first offence. &nbsp;I never had one in ten years driving in the UK. &nbsp;All the fines came in two places, both of which were three lane carriageways and the limit only 40km/h, pitifully and unnecessarily slow. &nbsp;Melbourne has changes in speed limits all over the city, often recently devised with road signs changed regularly, and new speed cameras craftily placed. &nbsp;It can be very difficult to keep up with. &nbsp;Make a mistake once, however, and you are unlikely to learn from it until 3 weeks later when you receive notice in the post. &nbsp;In those three weeks, if you drove down the same road you are very likely to be fined again and again and again. &nbsp;Speed cameras are not noticeably marked and do not conspicuously flash. &nbsp;You have to wonder, if you don't learn from your mistakes until three weeks after, what job is this doing protecting the public (the stated reason for speed limits and cameras)? &nbsp;If it were so dangerous going over 40km/h in these areas, then surely 3 weeks of making the same mistake, might cause an accident in that time.<br /><br />Luckily, I drive rarely, preferring to bike (still managed to get my fair share of fines though, in a small number of car journeys). &nbsp;Some people I know, however, I have been stung by these fines and points on their license extremely badly, and no one I have spoken to has a clean license (and I moan about this often to many people, you'd be surprised to hear). &nbsp;I think it is safe to say that for many low-wage earners, they are likely to pay far more in speeding and parking fines (the parking is overly-complicated too) than they pay in tax over a year. <br /><br />TV adverts constantly paint the police as around for the benefit of public safety, especially on the roads. &nbsp;Anti-speeding adverts ask, "How many deaths on the road are acceptable each year?" &nbsp;When a man says "I don't know, maybe a 70?", 70 of his friends and family walk around the corner looking somber and teary hugs are the result. &nbsp;None is the correct, and very unrealistic answer. &nbsp;Anyway, how is constantly looking for roads signs and taking your eye off the road to check your speedometer on fast roads, with unnaturally slow speed limits, going to reduce accidents? &nbsp;This is unrealistic, touchy-feely idealism, supported by the government for one reason and one reason alone; it makes them a tremendous amount of money. &nbsp;It's not about saving lives, it's about convincing the public that all the speed cameras and fines are good for them. &nbsp;Fear drives it, because at the end of the day, you don't want to be the one seeing your child's body being peeled off the tarmac. &nbsp;Families buy into this lie the most because of this very natural aversion to the possibility of their child being in danger (this is a topic I will return to at a later date).<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/bsyvrkEjoXI/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bsyvrkEjoXI?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div><br /><br />There are even 10km/h speed limits through a park that I cycle through every morning (I run/jog faster than that!). &nbsp;Adverts on the TV say, "Don't drink and drive", "Don't take drugs and drive", "Don't speed", "Don't drink and swim", "Wear sunscreen". &nbsp;There are so many more. &nbsp;Is it that necessary to treat everyone like a child? &nbsp;If it is, what's happened to society? &nbsp;I don't remember everyone being this irresponsible.<br /><br /><br /><div class="stream-item-header" style="background-color: #f5f8fa; color: #292f33; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><a class="account-group js-account-group js-action-profile js-user-profile-link js-nav" data-user-id="32520659" href="https://twitter.com/Benfogle" style="background: transparent; color: #8899a6; text-decoration: none;"><strong class="fullname js-action-profile-name show-popup-with-id" data-aria-label-part="" style="color: #292f33;">Ben Fogle</strong>&nbsp;‏<span class="username js-action-profile-name" data-aria-label-part="" style="direction: ltr; font-size: 13px; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="color: #b1bbc3;">@</span>Benfogle</span>&nbsp;</a><small class="time" style="color: #8899a6; font-size: 13px;">&nbsp;<a class="tweet-timestamp js-permalink js-nav js-tooltip" data-original-title="5:49 PM - 20 Jan 2016" href="https://twitter.com/Benfogle/status/689731462518669312" style="background: transparent; color: #8899a6; text-decoration: none;"><span aria-hidden="true" class="_timestamp js-short-timestamp js-relative-timestamp" data-long-form="true" data-time-ms="1453279769000" data-time="1453279769">2d</span><span class="u-hiddenVisually" data-aria-label-part="last" style="border: 0px !important; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px) !important; height: 1px !important; overflow: hidden !important; padding: 0px !important; position: absolute !important; width: 1px !important;">2 days ago</span></a></small></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="TweetTextSize js-tweet-text tweet-text" data-aria-label-part="0" lang="en" style="background-color: #f5f8fa; color: #292f33; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: start; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">We've been warned not to throw sticks for our dogs to prevent injury? I've thrown sticks for 35 yrs without a problem. Have sticks changed?</div></div><br /><br />Above: An example from the UK on Twitter, while taking a break from writing this. &nbsp;Can't imagine such concerns in Korea.<br /><br />I know many of you will be thinking that this is all good advice, but I feel saturated by it. &nbsp;I never once experienced this feeling in Korea, except when I was with my wife's family, where advice was dispensed on an almost minute by minute basis. &nbsp;This was equally annoying, however innocent mistakes were met with initial annoyance, but then understanding. &nbsp;Mistakes here equal money for the state government and they will contrive every which way to make sure you pay up. &nbsp;They will wack a fine or a service charge on basically anything, leaving no stone unturned for the accruing of public revenue.<br /><br />Of course, this is a moan born of the frustration of receiving too many large speeding fines for only just exceeding the limits ($190 for only a 5km/h mistake), but I think this is all a bit symptomatic of too much state involvement in the life of perfectly reasonable, otherwise law-abiding people, and also shows the lack of responsibility many people in Western countries appear to have (at least in the two I have lived in). &nbsp;I do think the political trajectory over the past couple of decades has encouraged this lack of responsibility in people and is damaging our culture as a whole (again a topic for expansion on another day).<br /><br />What's interesting is that I much maligned Korea as a place devoid of following logical laws and procedures with regard to safety, never more highlighted than in the Sewol disaster. &nbsp;But that's the frustrating thing, the lack of middle ground. &nbsp;Is it possible to have this middle ground, or is it inevitable that with time the prevailing cultural opinions of the masses will lead things this way? &nbsp;I never used to think so, I perhaps naively thought that if enough people went to different parts of the world and brought back with them the knowledge of how things are done better elsewhere, that change for the better of everyone would occur. &nbsp;My experience, in England and now Australia, is that this rarely happens, and when it does it is usually quite trivial. &nbsp;No significant changes in culture, or the way a country is organised, ever seem to truly occur. <br /><br />All this has perplexed and depressed me for sometime now, with any luck I'll be pleasantly surprised in the future, but experience has taught me not to hold my breath.<br /><br /><br />Smudgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00449129060365290678noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8154452806180550551.post-55109761328070527952016-02-19T12:50:00.001-08:002016-02-19T12:50:22.712-08:00International Students Beware - Part 2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZkBoLRc_4ps/VsFYI73nhiI/AAAAAAAAB2A/ZamTmA8PXQE/s1600/800px-Curtis_Lecture_Halls_interior_view3_empty_class.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZkBoLRc_4ps/VsFYI73nhiI/AAAAAAAAB2A/ZamTmA8PXQE/s320/800px-Curtis_Lecture_Halls_interior_view3_empty_class.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br />So, as promised, the plot thickens when it comes to my now ex-housemate. &nbsp;First a bit of background.<br /><br />After joining my wife in Melbourne, we decided we needed to be a bit closer to her university. &nbsp;I arrived a few months before the start of her new course at the better university. <br /><br />Most of the properties we viewed in the area close to the university were either tiny or dirty and old for the price we could afford, so with this in mind we decided to rent with someone else and get a rather nice place to live in. &nbsp;The only interested party was a Chinese girl on the same English course prior to the start of the nursing course. &nbsp;My wife knew little about her other than she seemed harmless enough.<br /><br />Many of the courses that offered places to international students would have an English level requirement. &nbsp;In most cases this was an IELTS 7. &nbsp;This is quite hard to achieve, so most still offer places to international students if they complete an English course prior to the commencement of their main course, obviously at an extra cost. &nbsp;Still, most institutions require at least a level 6 in all four disciplines.<br /><br />They stipulate that a certain level (presumably the equivalent to IELTS 7) must be achieved in order to start the course, however, a problem occurs if the student's English level is still not good enough. &nbsp;If the universities keep on failing students for their English, the likelihood is they won't pay the larger fees to start their actual course and once word of this gets out, less and less overseas students will come. &nbsp;I therefore highly suspect that most universities will not fail students for their English more than once. &nbsp;Why am I so cynical, you ask? &nbsp;Well, for two reasons:<br /><br />1) My housemate's English was awful, and when I say awful, I mean diabolical. &nbsp;She rarely understood anything either I or my wife said to her. &nbsp;On top of this, her basic speaking skills were terrible. &nbsp;Stringing sentences together just didn't happen unless it was a commonly repeated phrase, like, "I got it", or "Okay sister", to my wife. &nbsp;I remember once asking what she thought of my new car only for her to reply, "I am go meet friend". &nbsp;She never ever, not once in about 9 months asked me to repeat what I said, she always guessed and was, at least 50% of the time, wrong. &nbsp;She pronounced simple words like, "dollar" and "chili", wrong, saying "donar" and "chini", instead. &nbsp;It was painful communicating with her. &nbsp;My speaking and listening in Korean was better than her English, I understood more and I made less basic mistakes. &nbsp;My Korean is not at all good, and certainly not good enough to do a degree in Korean.<br /><br />I'd been an English teacher for a few years, so I think I can judge English level pretty decently. &nbsp;This girl's English was no better than an average Middle school student in Korea at best. &nbsp;I doubt whether her IELTS level got much past level 5, let alone approaching level 7. &nbsp;How on earth was she accepted onto this course?<br /><br />It turned out that my housemate failed her English course once and then was passed the second time.<br /><br />2) As chance would have it, one of my personal training clients at work used to be an English tutor in one of these pre-degree course English schools. &nbsp;I asked her why she left and she confirmed my suspicion that students could fail only once, that after one fail she was told to just pass them. &nbsp;When it appeared that she had to lie in order to do her job, she quit (she could do this on principle as her spouse and family in general were very well-off).<br /><br /><br />Now there is no way her English was good enough to start a nursing degree, no way. What's wrong with this? &nbsp;Where do I start?<br /><br />While it seems the university was doing her a favour by letting her start her nursing course, it clearly was not. &nbsp;How on earth would she ever pass the course (she still hasn't by the way, she is having to repeat a number of modules, at extra cost of course)? &nbsp;If she did even somehow manage to pass the course, how could someone employ her? &nbsp;If by some miracle someone did employ her, what would it mean for the patients she was helping treat?!<br /><br />As well as all this, the personal cost to her family would be mounting and mounting. &nbsp;She had already had to repeat her English course and then a number of modules on her nursing course. &nbsp;This already must be up into the tens of thousands of donars, sorry, I mean dollars.<br /><br />So where was my housemate getting all this money from; for her students fees, failed modules, and living costs while in Australia? &nbsp;She had a rich family? &nbsp;She worked tirelessly at a part-time job, right? &nbsp;Wrong. &nbsp;She never worked, and all the money her family poured into their daughter were in loans, this is all straight from the horses mouth, as we asked her. &nbsp;She had already been in Australia for 2 years when I met her, and this was over a year ago. &nbsp;By my calculations, the money spent by her family must be a six-figure sum. &nbsp;Frightening. &nbsp;The pressure on her and her family for her to pass must be immense.<br /><br />All of this gave me an interesting first-hand insight into what must be going on when it comes to the economy in China. &nbsp;It seemed like a microcosm of the the wider economic problem there, anecdotal, but telling evidence that money and wealth in the country appears mainly a sham. &nbsp;Assuming that it isn't though, and that debts have to be re-paid, my housemate's family were being driven into bankruptcy.<br /><br />The old saying, "sometimes you need to be cruel to be kind", seems to apply here. &nbsp;In all honesty, she never should have been offered a place on any course in the English language (other than an English course) and the reality of the initial disappointment would have saved her and her family in the long-run. <br /><br />This was a girl of mediocre talents from a small city Chinese background, not ready at all for life outside of China, and it showed in everything she did. &nbsp;It is impossible that the university couldn't see that this was the case.<br /><br />I can't figure out how she even survived or passed any modules on her course at all. &nbsp;Although there were rumours of vast resources for cheating in the Chinese student community. <br /><br />I bemoaned the online element of the course in the previous post, and it is relevant here also. &nbsp;Many tests could be cheated on because of this. &nbsp;Students can all sit in a group and use each other to find answers, perhaps this is how she managed it.<br /><br />Believe me, I felt very sorry for this girl. &nbsp;She spent 99% of her time in her room, especially when she was on vacation from university. &nbsp;She never went anywhere, other than to get food from the shops. &nbsp;She had no one, and no knowledge whatsoever of the country she was in. &nbsp;We tried to be friendly, but she often purposely avoided contact with either my wife or me. &nbsp;To say she was anti-social was an understatement. &nbsp;How would she ever improve her communication in English?<br /><br />Here are a couple of examples to show how disconnected and incompetent she was:<br /><br />- After living in Australia for nearly 3 years, she had no idea what cricket was. &nbsp;This became clear after my cricket birthday cake was shared with her and we discussed it (with difficulty).<br /><br />- She did not know how to pay at restaurants. &nbsp;Most embarrassingly for my wife, our housemate just shoved money into the hand of a waitress after lunch with her one time.<br /><br />- Worryingly for her potential future profession, she was incredibly negligent and unaware of some very basic things, including some which were potentially dangerous. She would often forget she was cooking, leaving food on the stove for hours; she would wash one piece of clothing in the washing machine until one day I caught her and told her off for it; she put plastic in the microwave twice; her personal hygiene was awful.<br /><br />- She would only turn the heating and air-conditioning on when we were not there. We only found out because clearly she had forgotten that she had turned it on sometimes and the house was either like a sauna or a refrigerator when we got home. <br /><br />- She would put the air conditioning on while having the windows wide open. &nbsp;She would also leave windows wide open in the winter and run the heating, or at least let all the cold air in. &nbsp;This infuriated me no end because of the extra cost in bills and the inconvenience of always coming home to a house too hot or too cold, solely caused by a weird desire of one person to leave the windows open all the time, regardless of the weather.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>To be quite honest, I don't know how we put up with her. &nbsp;I suppose the fact that she was in her room the whole time helped. &nbsp;All in all, I am thankful she didn't burn the house down or something, it was a relief to see her go.<br /><br />The picture I'm painting is of a person you would least like to be a nurse. &nbsp;Frankly, she was ignorant, unable to speak the language, negligent, dishonest, and unable to perform or remember to do the most basic of tasks. &nbsp;The fact she was on a degree course in Australia was truly unfathomable.<br /><br />There is so much more to tell on this subject, but I worry I'd be going on too much. <br /><br />I wrote this whole post with nothing more than a suspicion that something fishy was going on, based on my own experiences. &nbsp;However, after I wrote part one, one of my readers sent a link to a very interesting investigation on the topic, and it appears my fears are very well-founded, indeed, they are exactly as I suspected and the story I tell here fits in nicely with the following documentary:<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/T4YsjxTgOLk/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/T4YsjxTgOLk?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div><br /><br />There are a number of victims in all of this, international students and their families and society as a whole are put in real strife and possible danger because of this. &nbsp;Thinking of specifically nursing, how happy would you be to have incompetent people looking after your health? &nbsp;But a whole host of people could be graduating from university, in a variety of different professions, that are simply not capable doing what the universities said they can do.<br /><br />On a personal note, it is gnarling for my wife. &nbsp;She has already received a frosty reception on her first few days of hospital placements. &nbsp;This eventually evaporates as it becomes clear that she can understand English and is capable, but a prejudice and suspicion is occurring of international student nurses, and in a way, the staff at the hospitals can't be blamed for that. &nbsp;This is why many international students who graduate end up doing their nursing in old people's homes, and who could be more vulnerable than the elderly? &nbsp;What a scandal, what a mess, what is going on, and is it going on in other Western countries too? &nbsp;I suspect so.Smudgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00449129060365290678noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8154452806180550551.post-2409245186547766322016-02-03T00:14:00.000-08:002016-02-03T00:14:05.224-08:00International Students Beware: Sneaky Sneaky Universities - Part 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-j5QKbXSv2LY/Vqm-Aapj1-I/AAAAAAAAB1Q/4NFWa5ddSHw/s1600/diploma-152024_960_720.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="290" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-j5QKbXSv2LY/Vqm-Aapj1-I/AAAAAAAAB1Q/4NFWa5ddSHw/s320/diploma-152024_960_720.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br />My wife has now finished her nursing course in Australia. &nbsp;This was a huge achievement; I can't imagine how hard it must be to complete a degree in another language, so she deserves a lot of credit. <br /><br />The whole experience of my wife being an international student in Australia did give me an interesting perspective into what's going on with the universities here. &nbsp;It is not an understatement when I say I found what they were up to a smidge immoral. <br /><br />This actually has less to do with my wife's time at university and more to do with our ex-housemate's. &nbsp;Before I get on to our dear little lodger, however, I shall first explain what my wife and I have had to deal with, and in part two, I will write about the far worse scenario that went on with our housemate.<br /><br />Firstly, I am not going to complain about the fees - exorbitant though they are - more what you are getting for the fees and the level of dishonesty surrounding what the universities are doing. &nbsp;I also will not name the learning institutions involved, just in case, and because I think it is largely irrelevant anyway, as I have learned that this behaviour is fairly endemic across the board.<br /><br />To begin with, my wife enrolled in a course at a well-known TAFE in Melbourne. &nbsp;These are smaller college-like campuses, still offering degrees for many subjects. &nbsp;They often have the advantage of having less students per member of staff, and therefore provide greater support and usually for less money also. &nbsp;My wife's course was to be 2 years full-time, with one year part-time because of partial credit for what she had already done in Korea. <br /><br />However, as soon as time came to start her course, things changed. &nbsp;Instead of doing one or two modules per semester in year one - as offered before she left Korea - all of a sudden she had to take extra modules because they were not satisfied with her previous knowledge. &nbsp;Unsurprisingly, this would come at extra cost, about $8000. <br /><br />Having carefully planned our outgoings before we embarked on this venture, this was unacceptable, not just for the extra charge, but for the amount of time it took away from my wife's ability to work in that first year in order to help out with finances (for much of the first year she was on her own in Australia, as I stayed in Korea to finish my teaching contract and save money).<br /><br />To put it mildly, I was not a happy bunny. &nbsp;What made things even worse was that speaking to somebody about this was extremely difficult. &nbsp;My wife tried, but I had the feeling they were purposely confusing her and fobbing her off with weak excuses and promises. &nbsp;I wanted to speak with them, but a familiar problem I experienced in England, as well as Australia, occurred, the complete lack of someone to speak to when you really need to. It took a lot of skype calls from South Korea and an incredible amount of quite strident complaining to find someone that could speak to me about it. &nbsp;After making them all feel very uncomfortable indeed, they delayed charging us extra and putting my wife on extra modules until the following semester, before which my wife and I decided to pull out of the course and join another university.<br /><br />Luckily, this university had some prestige in the area of nursing and offered just a one-year course, giving my wife credit for the time she worked as a nurse in Korea and the learning she had already done at the TAFE. &nbsp;Curious, I thought, that a better university thought her experience warranted just doing the last year of a nursing degree (which she then passed fairly comfortably), while the lesser institution demanded two and a bit years, and then more when we arrived.<br /><br />I think the reason for this is that once an international student arrives in Australia, most of them have no choice but to give way to the universities demands for extra tuition at extra cost. &nbsp;Even before they arrive they can also call for more study than is necessary, again in order to swell their pockets. &nbsp;Once we were in Australia, knew the system and knew others that had been through it, we could find a better offer. &nbsp;How many international students have this knowledge or indeed have a miserly, moaning, old fart of a husband to truly hold the universities accountable for this sneaky trickery? <br /><br />For most students, they had been sent to Australia with their family's money in order to make a career for themselves, mainly from China and India, but basically all parts of Asia. &nbsp;What are you going to do if your son or daughter phones home and says they need more money than expected as they need to take extra modules? &nbsp;Pull them out and send them back home, having already heavily invested in paying at least the first semester upfront and moving them half-way across the world, or pay up? &nbsp;My suspicion is that the universities know full-well that the vast majority will simply pay up, especially as many international students and their families lack the English ability to put up much of a fight when it comes to putting their case across and complaining.<br /><br />Most of the universities my wife had her choice of, once we left the TAFE in question, also were not advertised or made known to us in Korea. &nbsp;Now that we are here, it seems different universities advertise in different parts of different countries, China, of course, being the most popular.<br /><br />Unfortunately, the story doesn't end there. &nbsp;My experience of university some 15 years or so ago seemed a lot different to what I saw with my wife. &nbsp;I'm not talking about the social life or anything like that, but the way learning was structured. <br /><br />Universities these days appear to take full advantage of the internet, making the online element of their courses gain larger and larger significance. &nbsp;Far from aiding learning, I believe this has given universities the ability to save an extraordinary amount of money by being less hands on with students and this helps them by requiring less staff.<br /><br />I used to regularly meet with my personal tutor at my university, at specified times, usually 3 or 4 times a month with 4 other students. &nbsp;Other lecturers and tutors were also quite available to deal with any difficulties I might have had. &nbsp;But this was before the sophistication of the internet was really adequate enough to run a course mainly from online, it really had to be done on a more person to person basis. &nbsp;At my wife's university, the ratio is hundreds and hundreds to 1 of students to tutors. &nbsp;Problems are dealt with online, and from what I saw, there were plenty of them as well, as regular maintenance problems with much of the material online.<br /><br />With international students in particular, you could also make a case for them needing greater support, but it seemed less to me. &nbsp;Did they really pay all this money for almost zero support except for a few vaguely answered questions on the university's online portal? <br /><br />To top it all off, after receiving an awfully large sum of money from us, the graduation ceremony was to take place 100Km away in another campus at a charge of approximately $400 (more if you don't decide straight-away to attend). &nbsp;This is annoying for us, but extremely disappointing for any international students wishing to attend, what for many is supposed to be one of the proudest days of their lives, as the graduation takes place 5 months after the finish of the their course. &nbsp;Almost certainly, all those planning not to stay in Australia would have had their student visas run out by this time. &nbsp;They either couldn't attend or would have to go home and then come back. <br /><br />So, to sum things up, it looked to me that universities were out to squeeze all they could out of international students, and they'd do it with a mixture of bending the truth, shoddy service, and in my opinion some big fat lies to boot. &nbsp;To put the icing on the cake, they also decide not to give a second thought or any effort to alleviating any of the many inconveniences and special issues international students might have compared to ordinary Australians at university. <br /><br />If it wasn't for the qualification at the end of it all, it can only be described as one sneaky little con job, designed to extort vast sums of money from countries like China, India, and Korea, just some of the countries now where people have increasing sources of capital. &nbsp;All in all it was a disgraceful case of the bottom line coming before human beings. &nbsp;I wonder how many families in Asia universities have bankrupt, or put in severe debt, because of the innocent dreams of a better life for their sons and daughters and security for the family as a whole. <br /><br />Now if this all sounds like I am making a mountain out of a mole hill or I am rather too suspicious of the motives of Australian universities, the story of my housemate in part 2 might sway you into my highly cynical position on them. &nbsp;I can't say this girl was my favourite person in the world, but I did feel mightily sorry for her.<br /><br /><br />Smudgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00449129060365290678noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8154452806180550551.post-20977854767885730782016-01-25T19:53:00.001-08:002016-01-28T16:49:04.880-08:00Returning to Korea? Why Not?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fGAFtBMONHc/VqLv6bCUcGI/AAAAAAAAB0g/Tz8km872btg/s1600/DSCF0616.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fGAFtBMONHc/VqLv6bCUcGI/AAAAAAAAB0g/Tz8km872btg/s320/DSCF0616.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />Let's get stuck in with the first real post back. &nbsp;Now I have to admit to entertaining the thought of returning to Korea on a number of occasions, my reasons for not doing so I won't bore you with again as I have already touched on them in my post, <a href="http://smudgem.blogspot.com.au/2014/12/the-reasons-i-left-korea.html">"The Reasons I left Korea".</a>&nbsp; All I can say was that the temptation was great. &nbsp;On each occasion after I left (I did so before, to live back in England for a year), it soon became apparent to me that I had a pretty great time in Korea.<br /><br />I can't say that without my wife that I would have returned, but my wife certainly was quite steadfast against returning, much more so than me. &nbsp;This seemed odd to me as she has clearly missed home very much and moans quite regularly about the many nuisances of living in a Western country. &nbsp;She is also much more attached to family than me, as are they attached to her. &nbsp;At times, adjusting to life in Australia, along with the lack of money (due to the international student fees we have had to pay), has been a real burden on her. <br /><br />We have both worked exceptionally hard and only recently have we began to see the fruits of our labours. &nbsp;But trust me, it's been tough. &nbsp;Every time we have tried to get some money together, the cost of living bites, every time we sort anything out - like internet, visas, finding a house, going away, etc - we have to work through mountains of bureaucracy, bad service, and unnecessary rules, regulations and charges.<br /><br />So what's going on? &nbsp;In my wife's eyes, and in mine, Korea is a much nicer place to live. Everything is organised better, life is more convenient, less stressful, we go out more often, and I have more holiday. &nbsp;For my wife, all her friends and family are there too. &nbsp;So why is she so against returning?<br /><br />The answer lies in how the people she knows treat her; family, work colleagues, friends, and acquaintances. &nbsp;Societal pressure and expectations in Korea are astoundingly strong and I have been quick to criticise how Koreans treat one another before on this blog based on quite inflexible views on life and the duties that are expected of each other. Us foreigners who have experienced Korea often bemoan how we are treated by Koreans, but like I have said time and time again on this blog, we really don't know the half of it. Koreans themselves get treated far worse by other Koreans than we ever are. &nbsp;We can play the foreigner card and get away with an awful amount.<br /><br />Korean working culture is often cited as a big reason why people want to leave the country, but my wife would often comment that she didn't mind working so hard if the people she was working with could treat her like more of an individual and with a bit of empathy and understanding.<br /><br />When you think about it, the despair many Koreans feel surrounding work and education is rooted in how others treat them and what's expected of them. &nbsp;It is the pressure parents put on their kids to learn - which comes from the pressure society puts on them - that makes education the way it is and so unbearable for students, for example. &nbsp;The inflexibility of the working environment and the long hours is also something more controlled by society and the perceptions of work and duty than by the government or business (although both take advantage of it, I'm sure).<br /><br />It's a shame, because I reckon that if my wife were to make a list of pro's and con's about Korea and Australia, she would have a long list of pro's for Korea and only one or two con's. &nbsp;It's just that these one or two are so powerful, it is out of the question for her to entertain returning. &nbsp;She is currently visiting friends and family in chilly Korea right now, and although it has obviously been nice to go back home, after less than a week away, she can understand why she left, and yearns for a return to Melbourne (despite having more than a few complaints about living there).<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_SRpiZmPiwc/VqbrrZxC2-I/AAAAAAAAB0w/kmbFsbZIVhE/s1600/1024px-Korean_Air_Boeing_777-200ER_HL7526_SVO_2011-6-17.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_SRpiZmPiwc/VqbrrZxC2-I/AAAAAAAAB0w/kmbFsbZIVhE/s320/1024px-Korean_Air_Boeing_777-200ER_HL7526_SVO_2011-6-17.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="mw-mmv-author" style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #555555; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13.6px; line-height: 24.48px;">Sergey Kustov</span><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #555555; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13.6px; line-height: 24.48px;">&nbsp;-&nbsp;</span><span class="mw-mmv-source" style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #555555; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13.6px; line-height: 24.48px;"><a class="external free" href="http://www.airliners.net/photo/Korean-Air/Boeing-777-2B5-ER/2048529/L/" rel="nofollow" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none;">http://www.airliners.net/photo/Korean-Air/Boeing-777-2B5-ER/2048529/L/</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>It's a sad state of affairs in what would otherwise be a fine country to live in. &nbsp;Not only do many Koreans not want to return to Korea, <a href="http://m.news.naver.com/read.nhn?mode=LSD&amp;mid=sec&amp;sid1=102&amp;oid=009&amp;aid=0003666403">but an alarming amount want to leave</a>. There is a real sensation that many Koreans are truly fed up with the direction the country is taking, they just don't know how to change things and hence simply leave it (one way or another). <br /><br />A couple of weeks ago, I got a haircut and coincidentally it was a Korean lady who did it and she was very open and talkative - as well as being able to do a Western haircut. (Funnily enough, I reckon most of my haircuts have been done by Koreans since coming to Melbourne. &nbsp;This is because it was one of the easiest avenues to obtaining a visa some years ago). &nbsp;She commented on travelling last year; she had travelled for about 5 months to South East Asia, Japan, and back home to Korea in two, two week stints. &nbsp;After her first visit to Korea for about 8 years she remarked, "I planned on staying for a month, but after 2 weeks I couldn't take it anymore. &nbsp;My mum nagged and nagged, you know, and the rest of my family told me, 'why can't you do this, why can't you do that'". &nbsp;I couldn't take it so I went to Japan for two weeks before going back to Korea for one more week and then returning to Melbourne." <br /><br />I have met a number of Koreans in Melbourne through my wife, and it is much the same story for them. &nbsp;They have all been a rather different breed to the Koreans I met in Korea. &nbsp;None appear to be living the dream in Australia and really enjoying the place, but none want to go home. They are far more individual also, although coming from a culture that values a rather close-knit group and dependency on others, none seem particularly happy. &nbsp;My own take on their situation is that they would love to return to Korea, but all want to keep the ability to be themselves and make their own decisions without being pressured into a way of living that is not for them. &nbsp;This is all impossible in Korea.<br /><br />Perhaps it is just the nostalgia talking, but what a shame this all is because when I look back at my time there, it is a country that has so much to like about it.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://m.news.naver.com/read.nhn?mode=LSD&amp;mid=sec&amp;sid1=102&amp;oid=009&amp;aid=0003666403">http://m.news.naver.com/read.nhn?mode=LSD&amp;mid=sec&amp;sid1=102&amp;oid=009&amp;aid=0003666403</a><br />And on a site in English:&nbsp;<a href="http://en.rocketnews24.com/2016/01/28/seven-reasons-why-80-percent-of-young-south-koreans-dont-want-to-live-in-their-own-country/">http://en.rocketnews24.com/2016/01/28/seven-reasons-why-80-percent-of-young-south-koreans-dont-want-to-live-in-their-own-country/</a><br /><br />Smudgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00449129060365290678noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8154452806180550551.post-78334950029115841662016-01-20T18:08:00.000-08:002016-01-20T18:08:17.251-08:00A Different Perspective<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-97-t5AMMNeY/VqA3dgiSsbI/AAAAAAAABy8/BlqlUn6gSsk/s1600/Coat_of_arms_of_Australia.svg.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="246" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-97-t5AMMNeY/VqA3dgiSsbI/AAAAAAAABy8/BlqlUn6gSsk/s320/Coat_of_arms_of_Australia.svg.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br />Well, I know I said I'd be back over a year ago and haven't posted since. &nbsp;However, new year and a new start. &nbsp;I am well and truly settled in to living in Australia now and although things are running pretty smoothly, there are still plenty of things to complain about (and that's essentially what this blog was all about, right?), so some cathartic writing is in order and the blog has been resurrected from the ashes.<br /><br />I must also thank one of my readers for helping me contemplate getting things restarted, I forgot just how much I enjoyed putting my thoughts into writing. &nbsp;Having no artistic ability at all, this seems one of the few ways I can actually create something, and of course, I love a good argument.<br /><br />I would often receive criticism in Korea from readers saying something like, "Why don't you criticise your own culture?" &nbsp;Well, I'd like to think my blogs on Korea weren't all negative, I did have many positive things to say. &nbsp;I do quite like to moan though, and I can see how I could come across as a bit of an old curmudgeon towards Korean culture. I did always retort that I had just as many dislikes about my own dear culture, and here is the blog that will prove it. &nbsp;I am quite sure that I won't have many people berating me for criticising Western culture, Australian and British specifically.<br /><br />So why connect what may essentially be a diatribe against certain aspects of life in the Western world with Korea? &nbsp;Well, mainly because many of the things that now irk me about living in Australia and some of the issues I see from afar happening to my dear country of birth, bother me precisely because I lived in Korea. &nbsp;What was good about Korea is often bad in Australia or Britain and vice versa, from a perspective that is quite possibly only available to someone who has lived in a radically different culture. &nbsp;Korea will be very relevant to much of what I write in future months.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yyfsLDg9TfY/VqA6kFnYkNI/AAAAAAAABzg/VTgdPuZxKjM/s1600/Plato_-_Allegory_of_the_Cave.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yyfsLDg9TfY/VqA6kFnYkNI/AAAAAAAABzg/VTgdPuZxKjM/s320/Plato_-_Allegory_of_the_Cave.png" width="227" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 36px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Plato's "Allegory of the Cave", drawing by Markus Maurer</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table>There are many things I am troubled by upon returning from topsy-turvy land and an unrest created by a reverse culture shock. &nbsp;Why can't we have the best of both worlds? &nbsp;Is that even possible? &nbsp;Will I ever be truly comfortable living anywhere now or will the knowledge that things can be done better elsewhere get the better of me? <br /><br />Can't live here, can't live there, stuck in the middle, this is often what my wife tells me about her feelings on that matter. &nbsp;I must admit to giving thought to the idea of returning to my cosy existence in Korea, as there was much to like and life seems much more complicated in Australia. &nbsp;I console myself with the thought, borrowed from Plato, that while I may be wholly content sitting in the cave, walking outside into the light, while painful at first, can produce a richer, more fulfilling existence. &nbsp;I think this may be a thought many who have lived in lands far away (and certainly in Korea) can relate to.<br /><br /><br />So on that very profound note, I hope you enjoy the posts to come.Smudgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00449129060365290678noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8154452806180550551.post-1539275058737547812014-12-06T23:50:00.001-08:002014-12-06T23:50:38.951-08:00The Reasons I Left Korea<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JI5gb5fA3A0/VIP_92GE5LI/AAAAAAAABxc/IwLJuIA4Cgo/s1600/Leaving_On_A_Jet_Plane_(5713851042).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JI5gb5fA3A0/VIP_92GE5LI/AAAAAAAABxc/IwLJuIA4Cgo/s1600/Leaving_On_A_Jet_Plane_(5713851042).jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Faisal Akram (https://www.flickr.com/people/72847119@N00)<br /></td></tr></tbody></table>I'm back!! &nbsp;It's been nearly 4 months without a single post, but I have been busy trying to settle into life in a new country, Australia, so give me a break. &nbsp;To be honest, compared to living in Korea, it is just like living in England just a bit sunnier, more laid back, and with barbecues everywhere.<br /><br />So why did I leave Korea? &nbsp;I had a decent job that I liked, a very comfortable existence, was saving money and had lots of free time. &nbsp;In recent months I have had times where I thought, "Jees, what am I doing?", especially as I have had to fork out quite a lot of my saved cash in tuition fees and work very hard here in Oz. &nbsp;Here are my reasons:<br /><b><br /></b><b>1. The English Teaching Went Stale</b><br /><b><br /></b>I remember how keen I was to teach when I started my High school teaching job, I gave it everything and I was so creative in my lesson planning. &nbsp;I enjoyed going to work, in fact I'd even turn up 45 minutes early everyday! &nbsp;By the middle of my third year however, I was getting lazy and irritable, the challenge had gone and I was working off old lesson plans. &nbsp;Everything, including the lessons themselves became less enjoyable. It was time to move on. &nbsp;On top of this, could I ever be anything but an English teacher in South Korea?<br /><br /><b>2. Disappearing Friends</b><br /><b><br /></b>A friend of mine commented on Facebook the other day something along the lines of, "another year in Korea and the friend count continues to fall." &nbsp;This is very true. &nbsp;If you stay for a year or two, you make loads of new friends and keep your old ones, if you stay for longer, the new friends leave and you're out of sight, out of mind to your friends at home. &nbsp;For me, I am always looking for new experiences and England has grown stale also, so it is with great regret that I have distanced myself from friends back home. &nbsp;In Australia, I can at least make friends through my sports and there is less of a cultural barrier as well.<br /><br /><b>3. I was Becoming too Immersed in the World of the Internet</b><br /><b><br /></b>This blog was partly to blame for this, but also the nature of my job and Korea as a whole. &nbsp;Too many spare hours on the computer at work sent me into a world that isn't quite as it seems, where faux outrage, trolling and political correctness reign absurdly supreme and debates always end on a sour note due to implied aggressive tone and the lack of a human face (or even a real name) to hold each person back.<br /><br />I was afraid, frankly, of becoming one sad bastard who spends hours arguing with morons and reading other people's worthless blogs (I can see the irony, really), looking for something to blog about. &nbsp;Live in the world of the internet for too long and you forget what the real world is all about, and that it is much better to live in.<br /><br />It isn't all negative; I grew a much thicker skin, discovered the very real problem of political correctness for myself, and most importantly created something. &nbsp;That something might only be a shitty opinionated blog, but I think it is important to have an outlet, to produce something, which is a large part of why I'm writing this post now. &nbsp;What it means is that posts on this blog will be far less frequent than in the past, but that this site is not dead!!!<br /><br /><b>4. Something New, but not so Stressful</b><br /><b><br /></b>What can I say, I get bored easily these days, both with jobs and the places I live. &nbsp;I want to see the world before I die and experience many different countries and cultures. &nbsp;However, I want to live in these new worlds and not simply pass through them. <br /><br />Korea is a place I am sure I will return to - I have family here after all - but for now the spice has gone and too many things were rubbing me up the wrong way, a long break was needed. When I do return, it will be to study Korean first, as my lack of fluency in the language is probably my biggest regret in my time living there, even though I could get by OK, I just couldn't have very deep conversations. &nbsp;When I can speak properly, I can argue with Koreans in their own language and that'll be really interesting!<br /><br />Australia is somewhere different, but not too different. &nbsp;It's a taste of home, but with kangaroos, Koalas, and possums!!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qMzwZBlwc6o/VIQB3jcULhI/AAAAAAAABxo/djjRzm6l3rs/s1600/KangarooKoalaSanctuary.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qMzwZBlwc6o/VIQB3jcULhI/AAAAAAAABxo/djjRzm6l3rs/s1600/KangarooKoalaSanctuary.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><b>5. Too Easy</b><br /><b><br /></b>The above is one of my favourite Aussie sayings I hear a lot over here, so I thought I drop it in to describe how I felt in Korea in general. &nbsp;Soooo comfortable my life had become. &nbsp;I have never been happy being comfortable; when it lasts for too long it becomes a rut, a furrow in the path so deep that it becomes impossible to blaze a new trail and go to new, exciting places, both literally and metaphorically. Through discomfort, the challenge of something new, and associating myself with new people, I have learned and achieved a lot and gained great life satisfaction in the process. &nbsp;Korea was certainly this way for a time, but all good things must come to an end.<br /><br /><b>6. Freedom!!!</b><br /><b><br /></b>There was always the feeling of constraint in Korean society, the feeling that I couldn't really do and say what I wanted. &nbsp;I couldn't just be me and be accepted by Korea, I would never be accepted that way, I would have to conform. &nbsp;To be fair I have felt this way in England as well, but the flavour of it in Korea was certainly sharper and more pronounced. &nbsp;I even felt pressure to not voice my opinions on this blog, so I often held back (believe it or not). &nbsp;I believe my blog was censored by Busan's Ministry of Education (according to a chap on Asiapundits). &nbsp;I felt like I was one blog post away from getting in trouble. I say that, but just as I was leaving, I kept on getting requests to join radio debates in Seoul (had to keep refusing, but I did one on the phone about the Sewol disaster and safety), so someone must have been reading and thinking I had some valid points or at least a debatable opposing view. &nbsp;Perhaps I was just being paranoid and that actually I was one step away from recognition as a truly insightful blogger on Korea (could be dreaming on that one).<br /><br /><br /><b>Note:&nbsp;</b>Stay tuned for some more perspectives on Korea, except now from the outside looking back in; I guess I am still on the inside in a way, as I have family, so the blog title can stay the same.<br /><br />Smudgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00449129060365290678noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8154452806180550551.post-3565231765791337922014-08-14T17:16:00.000-07:002014-08-14T17:16:38.055-07:00Confucianism Doesn't Explain Everything, but it can Explain Quite a lot<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2lfZDMbg1CQ/U-1Ds3zIbTI/AAAAAAAABvA/82comakCXyw/s1600/confucius.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2lfZDMbg1CQ/U-1Ds3zIbTI/AAAAAAAABvA/82comakCXyw/s1600/confucius.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div><br />Since the Sewol disaster and some rather simplistic reporting of Confucianism being in the reason for so many student deaths, using the C-word has become a bit of a no-no in writing about South Korea. &nbsp;If you do dare to use it, you risk immediately discrediting everything you write. &nbsp;"Did he say Confucianism?" &nbsp;"He must know nothing about Korea, what a fool."<br /><br />As I wrote at the time, the explanation that it was Confucian values that made those students follow orders and stay below was far too basic. &nbsp;For a start, many didn't listen and escaped, and in a situation you are not sure about - and rarely are most people experts on ferry safety - you perhaps should defer to those in charge with the supposed experience and expertise. &nbsp;Not only that, it was insulting, laying the blame on the students for their own deaths, when it was clear they were let down by a grossly negligent ferry company and an incompetent crew.<br /><br />Turning to Confucianism to explain things was a mistake in this case (for the students, I could see a more complex argument for the company and the crew, but I would more broadly say that Korean, 'respect culture', rather than traditional Confucianism could've been a factor) but let's be honest, Confucianism is a driver of many of the behaviours we see around us on a day to day basis in Korea. &nbsp;In many cases, common practices have become a slightly altered form of Confucian tradition, but modern culture in Korea still has a Confucian base. &nbsp;It seems stupid to have to say this, as it is so obvious, but I do think some people might need to be told this brute fact.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.vice.com/read/stop-blaming-south-koreas-culture-for-last-weeks-ferry-disaster">Some popular news articles</a> and some in the <a href="http://roboseyo.blogspot.kr/2014/04/5-signs-author-of-article-youre-reading.html">Korean blogosphere</a> have managed to make using the C-word as an explanation a bit of a taboo. &nbsp;Actually, I think I agree with the two articles I have linked to and many others on the subject, and I also agree that many people used Confucianism too freely, but it is amazing how things swing to the ends of two extremes and the reactions to such articles have not caused balance. &nbsp;It has gone from being the one-stop solution to every query about things that happen in Korea, to being ridiculed whenever it is used, even if it is extremely relevant.<br /><br />I have noticed the ridiculing of those that mention Confucianism a lot in the past few months, but it came to my attention this week when an old post I wrote for <a href="http://www.asiapundits.com/korean-women-need-to-stand-as-one-for-social-change/">Asiapundits on the treatment of women in Korea</a> was shared again by one of the editors and received some attention and comments. &nbsp;In that article, I used Confucianism to partly explain the culture of patriarchy that still exists in Korea. &nbsp;If you read that post, you will see it only formed a small part of what I wrote, but sure enough, it was picked up upon and received the usual treatment:<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px;">1. "It might further behoove you to read about why these cultural traditions exist rather than throwing it under the gauge blanket of confusion ism." (her spelling, not mine by the way)</span></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="background-color: white;">2. "</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px;">But Confucianism is such a handy word. Every time I can’t understand Korea, I just use it and pretend I do."</span></blockquote><br />These kind of comments have increasingly become the norm. &nbsp;But in respect to the treatment of women in Korea, surely it is impossible to say that Confucianism is not involved, it is a huge part of the system of hierarchy we see today, both with young and old and men and women. &nbsp;In a rather long article, I actually only wrote a few lines about it and I'm not really sure how you can argue against it:<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px;">"To do away with&nbsp;nearly two&nbsp;thousand years of Confucian tradition (and about 700 hundred of strong cultural influence through the Joseon Dynasty)&nbsp;is what the women of Korea are up against, so perhaps it is no surprise they are still struggling to make an impact on society for better treatment.&nbsp; In Confucian thought a virtuous woman is meant to uphold the ‘Three subordinations’: be subordinate to her father before marriage, to her husband after marriage, and her son after her husband dies.&nbsp; Men can remarry and have mistresses, but women&nbsp;must always remain faithful even after their husbands’ death.&nbsp; With this is mind it is easy to see why men are still thought of in higher regard."</span></blockquote><br />Most cultures all around the world are still in some state of patriarchy. &nbsp;I would argue that Western culture is almost completely rid of it now (although I'm sure many would disagree, but that's an argument for another time). &nbsp;But I don't think it is a stretch to say each of these cultures has had to, or is still battling out of, the old traditions that were enforced by a religion or cultural philosophy. &nbsp;Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Confucianism, etc. &nbsp;Which hasn't tried to subjugate and control women? &nbsp;They all have their particular ways about doing it, however, and some are worse and harder to escape and fight your way out of than others. Islam is undoubtedly the most oppressive of the bunch in this regard and has easy to identify consequences of its patriarchal philosophy. &nbsp;The results of Confucian tradition in Korea are not so brutal on women, but they still have a significant affect and the form of patriarchy present in Korea has the obvious stamp of Confucianism about it and the culture as a whole persists in holding women back because of it. &nbsp;Not solely because of it, mind, but to deny it is a factor is strange to say the least. &nbsp;My suspicion is that it's down to political correctness.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-izpN8_jDhpk/U-1EC2kp_2I/AAAAAAAABvQ/LcSUshsXO4Y/s1600/confucianism_symbol.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-izpN8_jDhpk/U-1EC2kp_2I/AAAAAAAABvQ/LcSUshsXO4Y/s1600/confucianism_symbol.png" /></a></div><br /><br />Political correctness is not always a bad thing, it is good we aren't all going around saying bad words to people and jumping to overly-simple conclusions, and it has raised consciousness about certain issues. &nbsp;But it regularly goes too far and prevents honest dialogue and that is something I have had to really fight with on this blog. <br /><br />Reflecting on my time blogging, with just one week left in Korea, I have to say that I have been quite amazed by the aggressive, vitriolic, and ridiculing nature of the responses I have got to my blogs over the last two years or so. &nbsp;Some people write entire repetitive essays of hate against me on my comments section or on their own sites. In the beginning, it was upsetting, I won't lie, especially as I thought I wasn't really being that controversial or anywhere near hateful. &nbsp;Nowadays though, it is just time-consuming to deal with. &nbsp;A new life dawns in Australia and I just don't have the time or inclination to deal with those who say white is black and always misconstrue what I write to be some of the most vile evil know to man, indicative of some of the worst elements in modern society and harking back to the days of Hitler (really, no exaggeration, it's what some people think). &nbsp;The fact I am a White man also seems to be a real problem for many people (even some White men). &nbsp;How dare a White man give his perspective on Korea. &nbsp;What a danger to world my meager little blog must be.<br /><br />It seems that even with a lightly-read, tiny blog on South Korea, you can't escape the abuse, just by having different opinions to the progressive crowd. &nbsp;From day one, I have had to fight the assumption that you just can't make and share your own judgements about other cultures and you can't compare other cultures (if what you are saying is in any way negative in nature). Although I should say you can, but Western culture - and in particular American culture - must always come out on the losing side, then it's fine. <br /><br />Confucianism might be becoming another word us White guys can't use anymore in writing or talking about South Korea, it feels like it is now off the table for discussion. &nbsp;Keep this in mind the next time you ask a Korean person about why they behave in such different ways to us Westerners, because in my experience Confucianism is as much a 'go to' in their explanations of their own behaviour as it is for us. Why? &nbsp;Because it really is relevant in explaining Korea, there's no escaping it and people other than Koreans themselves can use it (including White guys), it's just not always relevant in every situation. &nbsp;So somewhere between 'always relevant' and 'never relevant', I think there might be some middle-ground we can occupy. &nbsp;How about treating every claim of Confucian involvement in different circumstances on its own merit and arguing the particulars of each case? &nbsp;Now there's an idea.<br /><br />Smudgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00449129060365290678noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8154452806180550551.post-26691692187879392602014-07-02T18:09:00.001-07:002014-07-03T17:32:33.065-07:00What's so Wrong with Eating Dog?<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ucN6GUuF7X4/U7Orfg5zRnI/AAAAAAAABuA/A1-Jly27qNM/s1600/dog+meat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ucN6GUuF7X4/U7Orfg5zRnI/AAAAAAAABuA/A1-Jly27qNM/s1600/dog+meat.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/26294314@N00">Image by Gael Chardon&nbsp;</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />With less than 2 months until I leave, I thought I'd give my perspective on the old chestnut of eating dog in Korea. &nbsp;I have partly dealt with it before on a few occasions, but it is summer again (the best time of year to eat dog, apparently, it will improve stamina in the hot summer months) and stories about it keep coming up, with the same old nonsense being said about it. &nbsp;In this piece I will confront the main argument from the cultural relativists and many Koreans themselves:<br /><br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: center;"><b>"Westerners are hypocrites, they eat sheep, pigs, chickens, deer, cows, ducks, and more, but draw the line at dog. &nbsp;Korea, China, and Vietnam just view things differently, they simply have a different culture. &nbsp;Who is anyone to say eating dog is wrong? &nbsp;It's the same as eating any other animal."</b></blockquote><br />I partly agree with this sentiment - shared by many Western people and Koreans alike - there is a big chunk of hypocrisy going on (<a href="http://smudgem.blogspot.kr/2013/11/how-treatment-of-dogs-in-korea-should.html">even wrote a blog about vegetarianism based on it</a>), yet at the same time, I have my issues with what they are ignoring.<br /><br />There is a special relationship between dogs and humans, it goes back thousands of years. &nbsp;I am a huge fan of dogs; they are so loyal and so genuine, they can teach people a lot about life. &nbsp;It is sad to see many dogs still getting so excited to see their owners, even when they are treated badly by them, but that is the spirit of the dog, the eternal optimist.<br /><br />The adoration of the dog in the West at least gives people a place to begin with compassion towards animals. &nbsp;Of course, there will be many Koreans, Chinese, etc, who think the same way about dogs and care for animals, but as a pattern in society, frankly, the treatment of dogs is clearly different.<br /><br />Once you have a place to start, comparisons can be drawn between other animals, which can raise consciousness. &nbsp;Most people completely ignore these comparisons, granted, but by having sympathy for the dog, a crack appears and a way into people's hearts and minds is possible with regards all other animals.<br /><br />The problem with the attitude towards dogs in Korea, that I see, is a general heartlessness to all animals is largely present. &nbsp;It's not like some other animal gets most of their love - in the US is dogs, but in Korea its deer, for example - all animals are well and truly outside the sphere of what the average person should be compassionate or concerned about in a large section of Korean society (especially the older generation).<br /><br />Remember also that it is not just the eating of dogs, but the treatment of them and the slaughter of them. &nbsp;Unfortunately, as the dogmeat trade is technically illegal and unregulated in Korea (an example of one of many laws never enforced), the standards of care are appalling. &nbsp;Some Koreans (mainly older Koreans), believe beating the dogs or strangling them to death slowly causes a surge of adrenalin that makes the meat taste better, and they are often kept in terrible conditions. &nbsp;In fact, in China also, dog meat always seems to go hand-in-hand with horrifically cruel living conditions for the dogs, abhorrent methods of slaughter, unhygienic practices, and unethical means of procuring the dogs (e.g. stolen from pet owners).<br /><br />We know it is possible to ignore animal suffering, we all do it to some extent, but when you have the ability to be so indifferent to the suffering of an animal that worships the ground you walk on, and can be the most trusting and loyal friend you've ever had, I think that points to something more than a little troubling. &nbsp;Many people are hypocrites when it comes to dogs and the treatment and eating of other animals, but at least they have some ability to feel the pain of non-human animals. &nbsp;I worry that those that treat dogs poorly and eat them may be almost completely numb when it comes to animals, which also begs the question about what goes on in their minds with regards to some fellow human beings.<br /><br /><a href="http://smudgem.blogspot.kr/2012/12/reasons-for-poor-treatment-of-dogs-in.html">In another blog</a>, I mused on the reasons for Koreans eating dog and speculated that there may very well be justifiable reasons for it in the past, and perhaps we can understand why they still do so. &nbsp;I focused mainly on history and poverty in that piece. Whatever the reasons though, you have to weigh the current attitudes and whether they are right, wrong, damaging, or not.<br /><br />There is a concern I have about cultural morality in this part of the world, and I think the way Koreans treat dogs highlights this quite nicely. &nbsp;Duty is very important here, and what troubles me is how rigidly defined these duties can be. &nbsp;Things workout fine most of the time, and perhaps more kind deeds are done and more thought given to others as a result (to those who you have a duty to be kind and thoughtful to), maybe even a more orderly society as well. &nbsp;However, when someone or something sits outside the traditionally defined duties (think strangers, people from other countries, and animals), it can be a recipe for a lack of moral consideration and I think this is what happens in dogs.<br /><br />When I see a dog chained-up outside all their lives, or even worse hit and abused, I think about how I would feel if I were in its place, I put myself in its shoes - so to speak - and I think this method of being empathetic is shared by most people. &nbsp;I don't believe this is how the mind of many Koreans works. &nbsp;Fine, you can say this is just a theory, how on earth do I know what goes on inside their heads? &nbsp;But I can draw conclusions from the behaviour I witness, and this is what I see. &nbsp;I believe the traditional moral duties outlined by Korean, and possibly Chinese culture, actually get in the way of the natural empathetic urges towards the suffering of other beings that people everywhere have.<br /><br />Korean culture has this set of duties for different people in different situations, even the dog has a duty. &nbsp;In Korea, any dog too large for an apartment has a duty to sit and guard the house outside, that's just its place, to argue otherwise is futile. &nbsp;The owners job is to feed it and give it water and pretty much nothing more. &nbsp;The thought of, "Its freezing outside, the poor dog must be cold. &nbsp;If it were me, I'd appreciate being inside or least having another blanket", is a thought process I think simply doesn't occur in many Korean people. &nbsp;For this reason, even some of the most basic and easy to solve discomforts are left unattended to. &nbsp;Time and time again I see this as I travel around Korea and have even witnessed it in my own Korean family with their treatment of dogs. &nbsp;It is really quite shocking. &nbsp;I find myself often muttering under my breath, "Well, the least you could do is x, y, and z, it would require almost no effort or expense at all and would make the dog's life quite a bit better."<br /><br />This is not to say that cruelty does not exist in the West towards dogs, but the poor treatment I see in the West is done mainly by people who are poor and disadvantaged and are just overwhelmed by the responsibility of having a dog, or they are genuinely nasty, evil people. &nbsp;What I see in Korea is that you have the poor and the occasional nasty person, as usual everywhere, but also genuinely normal, good, nice, caring people, with the means to care for dogs better, doing horrible things to dogs or just completely neglecting them, that's the difference. &nbsp;These are also not isolated cases, the neglect and mistreatment of dogs is widespread among perfectly decent people in most other respects.<br /><br />There have been a few articles in <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2014/06/30/heard-in-the-hutong-dogs-friends-or-food/">the Western press about the practice of eating dog meat and the relationship between Koreans and Chinese and their dogs</a>. <a href="http://www.japancrush.com/2014/stories/dog-meat-festival-dispute-sees-netizens-side-with-china.html">According to Japan Crush, even Japanese netizens sided with the dog meat eating tradition</a>&nbsp;in China.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/30/world/asia/an-island-marred-by-a-ferry-disaster-and-sustained-by-jindo-dogs.html?smid=tw-nytimes">This article in the New York Times <u>after the Sewol tragedy</u></a>, actually annoyed me slightly. &nbsp;I know news articles can't cover everything, but it made it sound like Koreans really adored their Jindo dogs, but in my experience, they are usually chained-up all day and forgotten about, sometimes even sold for dog meat (my uncle in-law did this with his) even though they are designated a "National treasure". &nbsp;The reverence for the Jindo dog is mainly in words only, it seems.<br /><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Wz8CcmWu8Zw/U7OsYzpsZqI/AAAAAAAABuI/YLEyaELOAcA/s1600/Noah.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Wz8CcmWu8Zw/U7OsYzpsZqI/AAAAAAAABuI/YLEyaELOAcA/s1600/Noah.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://smudgem.blogspot.kr/2013/10/noah-jindo-dog-and-in-laws-dilemma.html">Read about my own personal experience with this little Jindo dog in Korea.</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />Change is afoot though, and the number of people in China and Korea objecting to the treatment and eating of dogs is increasing. <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/18/chinese-dog-meat-festival-held-early-animal-rights-protests">&nbsp;Protests in Yulin, China surrounding the traditional summer solstice festival of eating dog have hit the news</a>, and <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2184956/Eating-dog-South-Korea-angers-animal-rights-activists-international-protests.html">South Korean animal rights activists have staged protests in Seoul.</a>&nbsp; I find this encouraging, as I do the lack of support eating dog meat seems to have with the younger generation. <br /><br />There really is something unsettling about eating dogs and I think the intuitive disgust of it by many is a justifiable thing. &nbsp;I say this while at the same time agreeing with what other people say about the hypocrisy of eating other animals and how we treat them (I really do think factory farming is one of the most disgusting things imaginable), but I hope you can now see why I think that it is so especially horrible to eat dogs. &nbsp;Because after all, if you can't muster any compassion for dogs, what hope do other animals have?<br /><br /><br />For more information on the current situation and the law regarding dog meat see the link below:<br /><br /><a href="http://animalrightskorea.org/dog-meat-issue/current-situation-of-koreas-dog-meat-industry.html">http://animalrightskorea.org/dog-meat-issue/current-situation-of-koreas-dog-meat-industry.html</a>Smudgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00449129060365290678noreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8154452806180550551.post-31868091583429754702014-06-20T00:19:00.000-07:002014-06-20T00:19:31.089-07:00From England but Dislike Football? Liar!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5xZDGnoVl9A/U6O_aXZNfII/AAAAAAAABtw/1AwPXHb1uqo/s1600/brazil+world+cup.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5xZDGnoVl9A/U6O_aXZNfII/AAAAAAAABtw/1AwPXHb1uqo/s1600/brazil+world+cup.png" height="320" width="256" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>The fact that I am not into football is a cause of regular disbelief to most Korean people I know or meet, even to the point that I get accused of lying about it sometimes (especially when England lose). &nbsp;My students in particular find my lack of enthusiasm for the beautiful game most perplexing. But I promise them it is the truth, I'm really not that interested.<br /><br />Now, with the World Cup in full swing, of course I wouldn't mind seeing England triumphant (unlikely) and I obviously support them and am curious as to how they do, I even watched the Italy game. &nbsp;However, their defeats caused me about 0.5 seconds of disappointment. I was much more bothered by England failing to beat Sri Lanka in the cricket at Lords.<br /><br />Not only am I quite indifferent about the world of professional football (I don't mind a kick about every now and then; nice game and good for fitness), it has actually grown to be something of an irritation for me, causing a mild disliking for it. &nbsp;Here are my reasons, for my students and those of you out there that think it is impossible for a true Englishman to not like football:<br /><br /><b>1. Saturation</b><br /><b><br /></b>When I am in England, I very quickly go past saturation point; bored, bored, bored I am of people talking about it and it being on TV. &nbsp;I like sport, I play squash at a decent level, I love cricket, and I workout pretty much everyday. &nbsp;I like to know what is going on in the world of sport, but when you flick the TV onto sports news, it is most often 99% about football, and it is usually non-news that is repeated over and over again. &nbsp;The 24-hour Sky Sports News in the UK, was basically Sky Football News with one minute every hour for whatever else was going on in the world of sport.<br /><br /><b>2. &nbsp;Moral Vacuousness&nbsp;</b><br /><b><br /></b>The professional game is basically morally bankrupt in all departments, from the organisation of it, to the supporting of it, and the playing of it. &nbsp;The game is the worst possible influence on children, who idolise some of the worst characteristics of some of the worst role models.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/DlJEt2KU33I?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0' /></div><br />I'll let the video above do my explaining of why FIFA is such a disgrace.<br /><br />When it comes to supporters, I am sure most are great and in fact English sports fans generally are some of the best, most loyal, and most vocal. &nbsp;However, football has served to encourage one of the worst parts of British culture and that is general drunken thuggery and violence. &nbsp;Football hooliganism is still a problem in the UK and has had a very nasty history. &nbsp;I know it is not the fault of the game itself, but I can't help but associate football with probably the most deplorable aspect of my own country's culture.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="https://ytimg.googleusercontent.com/vi/2Vj_Os-plXc/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/2Vj_Os-plXc&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/2Vj_Os-plXc&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>A few years ago, I worked for a while in a bar in my hometown which regularly showed football matches on a big screen every weekend and I'm afraid the clientele that showed-up were some of the worst human beings imaginable. &nbsp;On top of this, their behaviour was never worse than when the football was on.<br /><br />Onto the players then and what happens on the pitch. &nbsp;Football has turned into game game full of real nancy boys, I must say. &nbsp;They dive, roll around on the floor, cry, and when they don't get their own way, throw hissy-fits at the referees and basically show no respect whatsoever for each other or the officials. &nbsp;Almost every game is spoiled by cheating and unsavoury behaviour. &nbsp;Even in the very first game of the world cup, the game was marred by a dive by a Brazilian player to gain a crucial penalty.<br /><br />The spectacle of football surely is, at least in part, a show of athletic prowess and a display of competition between men. &nbsp;Professional footballers are great athletes, but I don't see a lot of men on the field much of the time, only spoilt little boys.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/LC-H2wXK4T4?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0' /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The classic contrast is that of rugby, but I have been told that cheating goes on all the time in rugby, it is just not as obvious. &nbsp;Well, my response to that is that's a shame but the vast majority of young boys in my country don't idolise rugby players, and if they did, they would have a much better grasp of fighting spirit, fairness, toughness, and respect by watching a game of rugby, even if some of it is an illusion.</div><br />I actually prefer to use cricket as an example of a good sport to teach us good core values, especially test cricket (played over five days). &nbsp;Obviously, sometimes cricketers cheat or show examples of 'professionalism', but when they do there is great debate and moral outrage about it. &nbsp;See the example below of England player Stuart Broad refusing to walk after clearly hitting the ball and being caught.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/Na1-7aHkYDA?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0' /></div><br /><br />For those of you not familiar with cricket,, the batsman in this situation does not have to walk off, he can wait for the umpire's decision, but it is expected of him for such an obvious edge off the bat. &nbsp;Masses and masses of column inches in newspapers, TV debates, and controversy were the result of this situation, especially as it was in an important Ashes Test between England and Australia.<br /><br />For another more recent example, see an incident in a one-day game between England and Sri Lanka below:<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/4pC9n-ALMQY?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0' /></div><br /><br />England player Jos Buttler was given out - quite rightly - for walking out of his ground before the ball was bowled. &nbsp;This is extremely unusual and has only happened a handful of times in the history of the professional game. &nbsp;The Sri Lankan players had warned him twice before doing so (they actually didn't even have to warn him once), but there was still moral controversy about it, with many saying it wasn't in the spirit of fair play and the game of cricket.<br /><br />I think this all means cricket, its players, supporters and organisers still have a moral conscience, it isn't perfect and there are problems with the game, most notably match fixing scandals, especially in India. &nbsp;But the core messages of cricket and the example the game sets to young people is still praiseworthy. &nbsp;Football has totally lost its way in this respect, examples of absolutely blatant cheating are minor talking points that occur in almost every single game and no action is ever taken to make an example out of offending players in the vast majority of cases.<br /><br /><br /><b>3. The Players and the Scandals</b><br /><b><br /></b>I guess I could have included this as a part of section 2, but I thought it deserved its own place.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The vast sums of money involved in professional football have corrupted it to the core. Of course, this happens in officialdom and <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/football/2011/may/10/millions-bribes-qatar-2022-world-cup-claims">allegedly appears to be an issue in the success of the Qatar world cup bid</a>, but over-paying the players has given them an inflated sense of self-importance and causes any numbers of apparent character defects in some. &nbsp;Here are some examples:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1394474/Ryan-Giggs-accused-8-year-affair-BROTHERS-wife.html">Ryan Giggs affair with brother's wife</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2049867/Lucas-Berry-copies-idol-Wayne-Rooney-s-behaviour-banned-team.html">7-Year old copies Rooney's behaviour and gets banned from his club team</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/football/2012/jul/09/john-terry-anton-ferdinand-court">John Terry racism</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GopdzPxE2gk">Luis Suarez biting</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.totalfootballmag.com/features/premier-league-features/footballs-bad-boys-joey-barton/">Joey Barton</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I don't watch football - with the exception of the World Cup - but I had heard of all of these incidents linked above and they easily came to mind. &nbsp;Many youngsters idolise these morons and copy their behaviour, believe it or not.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I see football, and the exorbitant amounts of money paid to its stars, encouraging some of the worst things in society. &nbsp;It promotes the pursuit of money, fame, and celebrity worship above all else and discourages good manners and behaviour. &nbsp;There are many positive aspects to football generally - think fitness and community building - but the professional game and its main characters are doing more harm than good.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">So, there you go, just in case you didn't believe me, that's why I think the beautiful game isn't so beautiful. &nbsp;I guess I wouldn't have any problem with it if the game wasn't worshipped like a religion my many people, but it has gotten too big for its boots and garners far too much attention. &nbsp;I got fed-up with it all a long time ago and fail to see what all the fuss is about, but hey, each to his own and this is just my grumbling perspective on it. &nbsp;How I wish people in Korea could read this post and understand my reasons for disliking football though, before they look at me in disbelief and call me a liar when I say it doesn't interest me.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Finally, Peter Hitchens sums things up nicely in this clip starting at about 7:10 on the odd situation of people from all over the world obsessing about the game and that strange but common experience of people from Asia mentioning Manchester United whenever you say you're from England.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/DsbtFECW9Hg?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0' /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Smudgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00449129060365290678noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8154452806180550551.post-74763073114997081082014-06-11T21:45:00.001-07:002014-06-11T21:45:47.773-07:00Hiking Brings the Best out of Korea<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OJI3EjSDB4I/U5gD220hOaI/AAAAAAAABso/N1IpSVnyR9Q/s1600/getgagil.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OJI3EjSDB4I/U5gD220hOaI/AAAAAAAABso/N1IpSVnyR9Q/s1600/getgagil.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>It is certainly possible that lately I have mainly been focused on the negative aspects of living in Korea. &nbsp;Before you accuse me of being a grumbling old curmudgeon, I have been without my wife now for too long and I can't wait to join her in Australia in a couple of months. &nbsp;I'm fed-up, and therefore my mind errs toward irritations and problems much more readily than the good stuff.<br /><br />I have always found that there is a cure for this kind of melancholy, however, and that is a good, long ramble in the Korean countryside. &nbsp;It is likely that the fresh air and the exercise readdresses some chemical imbalance in my brain, but I genuinely believe some of the best of Korean culture and its people reveals itself at this time.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ibhLfd6nuxA/U5gEVbMPboI/AAAAAAAABsw/V4StddNk2O8/s1600/yeosu+coast.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ibhLfd6nuxA/U5gEVbMPboI/AAAAAAAABsw/V4StddNk2O8/s1600/yeosu+coast.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Last week, I took a couple of days with a friend of mine to do a 40Km hike along the coast in Yeosu, at the central southern tip of mainland Korea. &nbsp;The hike, known as the <a href="http://getga.org/">갯가길</a>, was a bit of a change from the usual intense mountain hikes I am used to in Korea and it also rather pleasantly meandered its way through sleepy fishing villages in between the cliffs, beaches and coastal forests. &nbsp;One of the other bonuses about a coastal hike is that you can wild-camp and build a campfire, something that is usually prohibited in the mountains due to the fire risk.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AXeTXwg0wzY/U5gHucdVsyI/AAAAAAAABtQ/y5NqEEz2G2k/s1600/cooking+ramen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AXeTXwg0wzY/U5gHucdVsyI/AAAAAAAABtQ/y5NqEEz2G2k/s1600/cooking+ramen.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cooking ramen on a stony beach fire.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />I have always found that Korean people are at their friendliest, most helpful, and most charming when I am hiking. &nbsp;Of course, you could make this generalisation to almost any country. &nbsp;If you want to find the most genuine, warm-hearted, and pleasant people, heading to the countryside is not a bad bet.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--HpSRy3srJw/U5gExivfixI/AAAAAAAABs4/G5EZWJl6ZTo/s1600/fishing+men.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--HpSRy3srJw/U5gExivfixI/AAAAAAAABs4/G5EZWJl6ZTo/s1600/fishing+men.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />However, I am regularly frustrated in Korea by unwanted help; that is when Korean people do things for me that I don't need, that make me feel uncomfortable, and yet at the same time create a debt and a favour that I should pay back. &nbsp;I don't get this feeling when acts of kindness are done while hiking. &nbsp;For one, I can't pay them back in kind most of the time and this is understood, so the experience has a much more genuine feeling about it. Contrary to living in the city - where any inconvenience to make an unfamiliar other's life easier appears to be too much trouble - &nbsp;I often feel like kindnesses are bestowed upon me in an attempt to make life more pleasant on my travels. &nbsp;It warms the heart and reminds me that Korea isn't such a bad place after all, even in the lowest of times.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oNwZJCUdOdc/U5gFTy_ZDfI/AAAAAAAABtA/TGAKcWxLeQI/s1600/village.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oNwZJCUdOdc/U5gFTy_ZDfI/AAAAAAAABtA/TGAKcWxLeQI/s1600/village.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />Since pretty much day one of arriving in Korea, hiking has been one of the activities I have enjoyed the most. &nbsp;Korea's hiking courses are so accessible and most are doable in one day or a weekend. &nbsp;Korea's countryside and coastline can be extremely pretty and the terrain and the extremes of weather can also provide a genuine challenge sometimes. The most memorable of all the challenging hikes I have done in Korea came at Jirisan, which includes the highest peak in mainland Korea.<br /><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bSlfhXTTK3w/U5gFsPJUyhI/AAAAAAAABtI/9tLeUFLR_tY/s1600/winter+wonderland.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bSlfhXTTK3w/U5gFsPJUyhI/AAAAAAAABtI/9tLeUFLR_tY/s1600/winter+wonderland.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the few pictures I managed to take before my camera gave-up in the cold.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Five of us very loosely planned a two day hike in mid-winter across the park from West to East (about 45Km) along the main ridge and the highest peaks. &nbsp;With a couple of novices - who were slightly under-prepared - this was no mean feat, as the temperatures near the summit approached minus 30 degrees Celsius. &nbsp;On the ridge, everything froze and on day two we were greeted by high winds and thick, sometimes waist-deep, snow. &nbsp;The regular shelters along the ridge, bringing with it the chance to make coffee and ramen noodles, were an absolute godsend when the cold and the exhaustion were truly biting and we shared this relief and hardship with Korean hikers, who would share their food and lend a helping-hand sometimes also (the taste and the feeling of a hot coffee after a long day's hard hiking in a biting cold wind, is truly amazing).<br /><br />It turned-out that we timed the trip perfectly, we managed to get on the first possible bus to the mountain and the last possible bus back. &nbsp;By the time we finished, we were totally cold-blasted and exhausted, but it is certainly the hike in Korea I will remember most vividly and fondly, despite feeling almost broken by the end.<br /><br /><br /><b>Bringing-Out the Best in People</b><br /><br />It could be possible that for the simple-minded and the mean-spirited, spending their weekend traipsing up a mountain trail is not quite their cup of tea. &nbsp;I would like to think hiking forces the best out of people and encourages close friendships and camaraderie between those of us hiking, regardless of where we are from. <br /><br />For me, the shared suffering and enjoyment of reaching the top of a mountain with a heavy backpack is a means by which I can share a common experience with Korean people who still, despite my connections with Korean family, can be difficult to comprehend sometimes and empathise with (and vice versa, them to me). &nbsp;It increases feelings of affection with the people around me.<br /><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xOuucLKXqhw/U5kqXdNzp5I/AAAAAAAABtc/U1NNXaPNqMA/s1600/yeosu+harbour.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xOuucLKXqhw/U5kqXdNzp5I/AAAAAAAABtc/U1NNXaPNqMA/s1600/yeosu+harbour.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yeosu, apparently in the top 4 most scenic harbours in the world (according to some Korean sources). Nice, but probably not that nice.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />Of course, on my most recent hike, it was less about straining to the top of a mountain with Korean hikers at my side - in fact, we only met one fellow hiker the whole 40Km - but more about stumbling upon parts of Korea that we would have never explored and meeting people most foreigners would commonly never meet. &nbsp;Not only is there a fascination and a joy for me personally in meeting such people, but I can also see that this curiosity and pleasure is reciprocated on the faces of the Korean people I meet in these places. <br /><br />The beauty of hiking is that in most cases the hardships put off the majority of people and the sight of someone sweating away under the pressure of a heavy backpack is possibly the least threatening thing imaginable. &nbsp;The wandering stranger then appears to be someone to help rather than fear and it seems many of the Koreans I meet on hikes like nothing better than bestowing their kindness upon me and my companions, and in the heat of the day, with hungry stomachs and tired limbs it is never more wholly appreciated.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Smudgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00449129060365290678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8154452806180550551.post-21732195607142007262014-05-31T16:49:00.000-07:002014-05-31T19:43:32.097-07:00The Accidents Just Keep on ComingA couple of weeks ago I wasted my time arguing a point on TheKorean's blog comment's section regarding accidents in Korea. &nbsp;My point was that we are under no obligation to judge the reason for accidents occurring in different places equally. &nbsp;Some countries are more likely to have accidents because of their culture than others and I think culture plays a huge role in the many of the accidents we see in Korea, both major and minor.<br /><br />However, one would think that if certain aspects of a culture did cause more regular accidents, this would show-up in a greater number of accidents generally recorded and witnessed, the frequency should be greater. &nbsp;I was challenged by a fellow commenter on TheKorean's blog to show that this is the case.<br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nEckfCYgirI/U4pqHy948YI/AAAAAAAABsY/Y_za7jRt1kU/s1600/symbol-39987_640.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nEckfCYgirI/U4pqHy948YI/AAAAAAAABsY/Y_za7jRt1kU/s1600/symbol-39987_640.png" height="320" width="160" /></a><br />Keeping a record of the number of accidents that occur in different countries must be tricky, especially as some overly-bureaucratic countries, (like mine) will record almost anything as an accident. &nbsp;I have my doubts that all minor accidents are reported at work - or anywhere else - in Korea. &nbsp;One thing that would be recorded fairly reliably would be the deaths from accidents, and Korea in fact does have the highest accidental death rate among major developed countries (source NYTimes):<br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.4375rem;"><br /></span><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.4375rem;"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/23/world/asia/as-ferry-toll-rises-hand-wringing-over-tendency-to-overlook-safety-in-south-korea.html?smid=pl-share&amp;_r=0">"In South Korea, more than 31,000 people, including 3,000 students, die every year in accidents, accounting for 12.8 percent of the country’s total annual deaths, the highest rate among major developed nations.&nbsp;</a></span></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.4375rem;"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/23/world/asia/as-ferry-toll-rises-hand-wringing-over-tendency-to-overlook-safety-in-south-korea.html?smid=pl-share&amp;_r=0">Those episodes include everything from car accidents to fires"</a></span></blockquote><br /><a href="http://asianewsweekly.net/2014/05/17/korean-culture-contribute-accidents/">According to Asia News Weekly</a>, Korea also has a 6 fold greater number of workplace fatalities than Australia also, though having only having half the population as Korea, that is still alarmingly high.<br /><br />One can't also help but notice the alarmingly high number of high-profile accidents and safety issues since the Sewol disaster, at a time when one would think people would be extra careful.<br /><br /><a href="http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2014/04/28/2014042801525.html">Asiana Jet Ignores Safety Warning</a><br /><br /><a href="http://big5.xinhuanet.com/gate/big5/news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2014-05/26/c_133361533.htm">Fire in Bus Terminal</a><br /><br /><a href="https://uk.news.yahoo.com/officials-fire-kills-21-south-korean-hospital-222053599.html#ZgN1wZu">Fire in Hospital</a><br /><br /><a href="https://twitter.com/hohocho/status/471449882490712064/photo/1">Fire in Homeplus Supermarket</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/02/us-southkorea-crash-idUSBREA4105S20140502">Subway Crash</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2014/05/511_158027.html">Subway Fire</a><br /><br /><a href="http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/news/2014/05/29/0200000000AEN20140529005651315.html?input=www.tweeter.com">Lebanese Ambassador Dies in Car Crash</a><br /><br /><br />There were other incidents involving a building collapse (not the North Korea one) and a bus crash that I can't find the links for. &nbsp;On top of this, <a href="http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20140531000095">now 2 divers have died recovering bodies from the Sewol</a>. &nbsp;The fire in the hospital, on the subway, and in the supermarket even occurred on the same day.<br /><br />Of course it could be that people are looking for accidents more now after the Sewol disaster, but there hasn't seemed to be any trouble in finding them.<br /><br />Fire seems to be a recurring theme in many accidents and as a teacher, and having heard other teacher's experiences in Korea, what goes on in schools makes me concerned. &nbsp;I am not convinced with my school's fire drill procedure and many other teachers I have spoken to agree with me and say the situation is similar in their schools. I remember fire drills in England being somewhat different.<br /><br />In England, sometimes the fire bell went off by accident, and when it did we followed the same routine; we evacuated and lined-up in our year classes on the school field. &nbsp;Our teachers then checked to make sure no one was left behind.<br /><br />Worryingly, in my school, everyone knows when we are having a fire drill, and when it occurs everyone goes outside. &nbsp;They get into their classes, but no one checks to see if everyone is present. &nbsp;Even worse when we have an unexpected fire alarm, everyone stays sitting in class and looks confused until, after a few minutes, the alarm is switched-off. &nbsp;If there were a real fire, it would be an incredible stroke of luck if it happened when scheduled, more likely it would arrive unexpectedly and all that time waiting to be told that, "no, this is serious this time", could result in lost lives.<br /><br />All this tends to back up what much of us see here on a day to day basis on the roads and elsewhere and one must come to the conclusion that Korea has a culture of unsafe practices and bad safety habits. &nbsp;I think it is all too convenient to blame a few bad eggs and the government, but the problem goes deeper than that. The root cause of it all is something worth debating over; in my own opinion there are a combination of factors:<br /><br />1. A speedy economic rise from poverty to opulence has given the country the appearance of being highly developed, but in reality they are behind in many aspects.<br /><br />2. Rigid hierarchies and respect culture make clear communication in times of crisis more difficult.<br /><br />3. Rigid hierarchies make disobeying unsafe orders more difficult (I want to make it super-clear that I do not think this played a part in the students staying below deck in the Sewol disaster, but I think it has played a role in other high profile accidents).<br /><br />4. <a href="http://smudgem.blogspot.kr/2014/05/safety-in-korea-forming-good-habits.html">Korea simply has not had enough time to evolve good safety habits because of their speed of development.</a><br /><br />5. Too many Koreans have a disregard for people outside their family or familiar others, and this causes a lack of care and consideration for people they don't know.<br /><br />6. The enforcement of laws is weak in Korea, which encourages many to bend rules and regulations because they know they can get away with it.<br /><br />7. The desire to gets things done quickly (to save time and money) overrides concern for, or blinkers many to the well-being of others.<br /><br />8. <a href="http://smudgem.blogspot.kr/2013/01/the-perils-of-respect-culture.html">Sometimes a lack of individual thinking and responsibility makes questioning unsafe practices or orders of superiors difficult.</a><br /><br />I am positive that what I am saying is not news to many learned Korean people who realise there are problems to be solved. &nbsp;How to make the necessary changes is a different matter, however.<br /><br /><br />I'm afraid it now almost seems silly to make the case that the everyday habits and practices of Korean people (I would define this as an aspect of their culture) are playing a part in their propensity to get into accidents, because it is seems so obvious. &nbsp;All these accidents and deaths aren't always just random events that happen from time to time in any country, they are not solely down to one or two evil people, and they are not the sole responsibility of the government to sort out. &nbsp;A nationwide consciousness raising effort is needed that the government need to encourage and all Koreans need to accept. &nbsp;These accidents are not something the government alone can cure, the culture of safety across the whole country has to change and there is much work to be done.<br /><br /><br />Smudgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00449129060365290678noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8154452806180550551.post-39520075897241169982014-05-17T16:05:00.001-07:002014-05-19T21:40:50.644-07:00Discriminationism<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4RZOEBZ0Wzg/U3dRstTrnEI/AAAAAAAABsI/doJ0cboMTuQ/s1600/discrimination.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4RZOEBZ0Wzg/U3dRstTrnEI/AAAAAAAABsI/doJ0cboMTuQ/s1600/discrimination.png" height="320" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Firstly, I know the title of this piece is crap, but I guess that is part of the point. &nbsp;Perhaps there is actually a real word for this, but I don't know it, so I made one up.<br /><br /><b>Discriminationism</b>:<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">"The propensity for people to jump to the conclusion that prejudice is the motivation behind other people's thoughts, words, and actions."&nbsp;</blockquote><br />I bring this up mainly because of all the talk of culture being involved in the recent Sewol disaster and <a href="http://askakorean.blogspot.kr/2014/05/culturalism-and-understanding-of-culture.html">allegations of "Culturalism" </a>(again) against those who propagate the idea that Korean culture might have played a role.<br /><br />There are other reasons, however, and they link to the foreigner experience in Korea. &nbsp;I do believe that many people who come to Korea to work end up spending much more time on the internet than they would back home for a variety of reasons. &nbsp;I think that this makes people come into contact with many popular causes that sweep around the web on social media. &nbsp;I notice a few involving prejudice that make daily appearances on my Twitter and Facebook feeds:<br /><br /><br /><ol><li>Discrimination against women</li><li>Gay marriage</li><li>Celebrities saying naughty racist remarks, racist TV programmes, and music videos</li><li>Immigration&nbsp;</li><li>"Culturalism" (Korea only)</li></ol><div><br /></div><div>The first 4 seem to be part of a liberal crusade at the moment and stories involving them are everywhere. &nbsp;Let me first start by saying that I have many beliefs you might say were liberal. &nbsp;I would be, pro-choice, anti-gun, for gay marriage, anti-death penalty, pro stem cell research, pro-euthanasia, and in the "Climate Change is real" corner. &nbsp;I do also have a few classically libertarian and conservative views as well, however.</div><div><br /></div><div>In all 5 of the listed above I see a great wave of "Discriminationism" going on. &nbsp;Let's use some classic examples:</div><div><br /></div><div><b>1. The disparity in pay between men and women is because of prejudice against women. &nbsp;People who don't agree are sexist (most right leaning politicians fall into this bracket).</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>I would argue that there are a number of reasons for the difference between the pay of men and women, the least relevant is unfair discrimination. &nbsp;The fact is that men and women make vastly different choices in life and prioritise different things, women tend to:</div><div><ul><li>Choose different lines of work</li><li>Have babies (therefore take breaks from work to bring up children)</li><li>Work less hours in full-time positions</li><li>Choose less dangerous professions</li><li>Want more flexible working hours (tend to choose flexibility over high pay)</li><li>Do more part-time work</li><li>Are less inclined to travel long distances or relocate for work</li><li>Are less inclined to ask for pay rises than men</li></ul><div>Instead of addressing these well-known points, most just ignore them and bang the drum of prejudice. They jump to the conclusion that Western society is still inherently sexist and people who don't see any unfair discrimination in pay are sexist too. &nbsp;There is very little sensible debate between opposing sides.</div><div><br /><a href="http://www.upworthy.com/whats-a-penis-worth-turns-out-a-hell-of-a-lot-more-than-you-think-2">http://www.upworthy.com/whats-a-penis-worth-turns-out-a-hell-of-a-lot-more-than-you-think-2</a><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-crYzSA8Yw">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-crYzSA8Yw</a><br /><a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-2615687/Bear-Grylls-rubbishes-sexist-claims-new-survival-The-Island.html">http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-2615687/Bear-Grylls-rubbishes-sexist-claims-new-survival-The-Island.html</a><br /><br /></div><div><b>2. &nbsp;People who are against gay marriage are homophobic.</b></div><div><br /></div><div>I actually think gay people should be allowed to marry if they so desire, why not, right? What harm can it do? &nbsp;I don't accept the arguments from the other side, but that doesn't mean I think they are all motivated by prejudice. &nbsp;Some are, sure, but to jump to conclusions, like Will Self does in the video below is wrong. Peter Hitchens thinks this is a form of Liberal bigotry, I think he is right to point out what Will Self is doing is wrong, but this doesn't mean that I am on his side in the gay marriage debate (and I think the accusation of bigotry in return might be unhelpful). &nbsp;I respect his right to a different opinion and would not make accusations of homophobia.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/Rc3aIyF5mS8?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0' /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b>3. &nbsp;Hypersensitivity is all the rage in popular culture</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>No doubt there are examples of racist celebrities, racist TV shows, and music videos and those that produce them should get their comeuppance, but the search for racism is going too far, to the point where every TV show has to show racial diversity, any music video that depicts another culture is using them or making fun of them, and any off-the-cuff remark by any celebrity is evidence that they are bigots. &nbsp;But jumping to conclusions about celebrities is fascinating news for a celebrity-obsessed culture as we are, and we love to see the rich and famous humiliated or shown as flawed individuals.</div><div><br /><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/04/25/avril-lavigne-hello-kitty-video_n_5213491.html">http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/04/25/avril-lavigne-hello-kitty-video_n_5213491.html</a><br /><a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2513107/Katy-Perry-accused-racism-dressing-geisha-AMAs.html">http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2513107/Katy-Perry-accused-racism-dressing-geisha-AMAs.html</a><br /><a href="http://variety.com/2014/tv/news/stephen-colbert-accused-of-racism-with-cancelcolbert-campaign-1201149494/">http://variety.com/2014/tv/news/stephen-colbert-accused-of-racism-with-cancelcolbert-campaign-1201149494/</a><br /><br />And in video games too:<br /><a href="http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2014/05/reaction_mario_kart_8_accused_of_poor_sales_potential_ruining_battle_mode_and_racism">http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2014/05/reaction_mario_kart_8_accused_of_poor_sales_potential_ruining_battle_mode_and_racism</a><br /><br /></div><div><b>4. &nbsp;A world without borders is a happier place, those who disagree.... well, you get the idea</b></div><div><br /></div><div>I would love the world to be border-less, as an avid traveler it would be a dream come true. &nbsp;However, at this moment in time it is not at all desirable. &nbsp;The fact is, cultures clash. I know this better than most being married into a different one. &nbsp;Some differences are irreconcilable for many people and this causes conflict. Multicultural nations can absorb people from other cultures, but it does take time. &nbsp;Too much immigration, too fast, is a recipe for disaster and I think the open borders policy of the EU at the moment is causing too much friction in Europe, with right-wing parties starting to pop-up all over the place.</div><div><br /><b>5. &nbsp;"Culturalism"&nbsp;</b><br /><b><br /></b>I have been purposely brief with the first 4 on my list to pay more attention to something more relevant to Korea. &nbsp;Let me first say that I am sure some people have their prejudices towards other cultures and I am sure they jump to conclusions sometimes. However, I do not think that, a) There is an obvious pattern of culturalism in the Western media or in Western people generally, especially for explaining disasters, and b) that when wrong conclusions are drawn sometimes that this implies prejudice. &nbsp;A couple of points below to illustrate what I mean:<br /><br /><b>a)</b><br /><ul><li><a href="http://smudgem.blogspot.kr/2013/12/the-asiana-crash-korean-respect-culture.html">People were justified in questioning Korean hierarchical respect culture for possible communication problems in the cockpit in the Asiana crash.</a></li><li><a href="http://smudgem.blogspot.kr/2014/04/the-sewol-ferry-disaster-why-we-must.html">People were right to question the culture of indifference to safety issues in Korea.</a></li></ul></div><div><b><br /></b><b>b)</b><br /><ul><li>I believe people were wrong to conclude that Korean students were too obedient because of respect hierarchies or Confucianism, and that's why they stayed below deck, leading to their deaths. However, I can understand how someone with experience of Korean culture might think it. &nbsp;It was an over-reach, though, as I am not sure it applied very well to that situation. &nbsp;Wrong conclusion, yes, but was it because of simple ignorance, filling in time on 24-hour news or columns in newspaper or was it true prejudice? &nbsp;When a Korean-American news reporter (Kyung Lah) thought Korean culture was a factor, I have difficulty thinking it was prejudice in her case. Generally, I think it was just a bad argument, but not the result of prejudice. Perhaps there were some reports where prejudice was a factor, but I think they were the exceptions rather than the norm.&nbsp;</li></ul><div><br /></div><div>I see a hypocrisy in the whole culturalism argument. &nbsp;Those who advocate this idea place incredibly high demands of proof before we can even question whether culture was even partly involved in a disaster. &nbsp;Yet they require no proof whatsoever to assert that when people do question cultural involvement they do so as a result of a prejudice.</div><div><br /></div><div>No only this, but surely there is a cultural accusation going on here, and that is <i>the West regularly shows a prejudice in explaining disasters in Asia. &nbsp;</i>If the statement said, <i>the West regularly gets things wrong explaining disasters in Asia</i>, then I'd have no problem with it. &nbsp;However, many go further than this (like TheKorean), they claim to know the mind and the motivation of writers like Malcolm Gladwell, journalists, and just ordinary people with an opinion.</div><div><br /></div><div>If it was a simple matter of "you are wrong, I am right, and here's why", there would be little to worry about and we could have a good debate about it. &nbsp;But it is worse than that, instead one side is saying, "I am right, you are wrong and the reason you're wrong is that you are prejudiced against Asian cultures." &nbsp;Unfortunately, it is only then a short step away from accusations of racism as well and then moral superiority over the opponent is truly asserted and debate can be silenced, as funnily enough, people don't much enjoy being accused of racism, especially when they know they are not. &nbsp;<a href="http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2013/10/conservatives-biggest-fear-being-called-racist">People that oppose modern-day liberal viewpoints are most at risk of being labeled racist and instead of debating with liberals, this fear drives them to watch sometimes radically right-wing radio and TV programmes in large numbers.</a> &nbsp;This could actually have the effect of turning people who genuinely have a point worth arguing about on some issues into an actual racist or inflame or create real prejudice.</div><div><br /></div><div>This is extremely problematic, encouraging a whole lot of emotion and push-back from the other side. &nbsp;Just like in the other debates I have mentioned, as soon as a prejudice is accused of good, unbiased people (not everyone will fit this category, but many are) merely with a differing opinion, you create a real "us against them" tussle.</div></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>The accusation of prejudice is something that must be much more carefully made or tension and resentment will be the result when it is made unfairly. &nbsp;Black people having to drink from different water fountains to White people is clear-cut prejudice. &nbsp;Explaining poor communication in a cockpit by invoking Korean respect culture is not an example of clear-cut prejudice as there are reasons to believe this could be the case. Argue the conclusion is wrong if you like, but keep the accusations of prejudice out of it.</div><div><br /></div><div>Culture is not race, gender or sexual orientation, it is learned behaviour, not innate. Different cultures can be prone to different problems through certain aspects of their culture. &nbsp;Respect hierarchies could affect clear communication and safety and attitudes to safety among Korean people could make dangers more likely. Attitudes towards food in many Western countries could make obesity and ill-health more likely. &nbsp;Cultures are not equal, therefore the prevalence of explanations regarding ill-health and Western food culture will happen more often and disasters will be explained more often by using Korean attitudes to safety and the interaction with their elders and superiors. &nbsp;We are not obligated to explain negative connotations of cultural attitudes equally between all cultures in all situations.<br /><br /><br />Unfortunately, I do think there is a real concerted effort going on in liberal circles to silence arguments, not with good points, reason, and evidence, but with slurs on the opposition and appeals to emotion. &nbsp;There is a way of thinking going around at the moment that if you don't subscribe to, you are a fit target for abuse and are always on the defensive. &nbsp;You are guilty until proven innocent of prejudice, and to prove this innocence you have to absorb a series of barbed verbal and/or written abuse (I know this better than most on this blog). &nbsp;I think most just give up the discussion because of fear or social ostracism. &nbsp;What a sad state of affairs for good, honest, reasoned debate and the search for truth. &nbsp;Sure, name and shame those that are truly bigots, racists, sexists, homophobes, etc. &nbsp;But people should start by making sound arguments first and benefit of the doubt should be given. &nbsp;Innocent until proven guilty, remember.</div><div><br /><br /></div>Smudgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00449129060365290678noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8154452806180550551.post-4461063691011393932014-05-10T15:48:00.001-07:002014-05-19T21:40:21.839-07:00Safety in Korea: Forming Good Habits<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CbrwjYjccWI/U21qTvxZoUI/AAAAAAAABr4/IOaqxc5aUIw/s1600/danger.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CbrwjYjccWI/U21qTvxZoUI/AAAAAAAABr4/IOaqxc5aUIw/s1600/danger.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>I was recently invited onto a panel discussion on tbs eFM Primetime - an English speaking radio station in Seoul - to talk about safety in Korea. &nbsp;I was originally invited to give my point of view about South Korean cultural involvement in the Sewol tragedy, but couldn't do it, so they invited me to the next relevant debate instead.<br /><br />Because I live about as far from Seoul as you can be in Korea, I was not able to appear in person in the studio, which was a pity, but I gave some points in a short telephone interview. &nbsp;You can listen to the whole program by searching <a href="http://tbsenglish.com/prglist_aod.asp?prgcode=1410">here</a>&nbsp;(on Wednesday May 7th) and I found the perspective of the two university professors in the studio quite interesting. <br /><br />I won't go into the whole discussion, for this post I will only focus on one aspect of the debate. &nbsp;During the discussion on the radio, both myself and one of the professors in the studio came up with an interesting point about getting into good habits regarding safety.<br /><br />I actually think Koreans are being a bit hard on themselves and the other professor in the discussion made some quite scathing comments about Koreans being uncivilised, uncaring, even describing them as animals for such things as not forming orderly queues. &nbsp;Many articles have also been written in the Korean media about how they as a society care too much about money and getting things done quickly and don't care about people enough. Perhaps there is some truth to this, it's possible the country as a whole has become too obsessed with success and economic development and it was certainly a factor in the poor safety practices at my wife's hospital when she worked in Korea. &nbsp;But I think a general lack of safety awareness and a poor understanding of risk are the greater culprits.<br /><br />The situation on the roads is a perfect example of this. &nbsp;In my experience, lots of people cross the road without looking both ways, sometimes not even looking at all or with their heads buried in their smart phones. Inside cars, I have had the experience of siting in the back of a car with a Korean mother driving with her son of 12 years old in the passenger seat and who was wearing no seat belt and have friends who recall similar experiences. &nbsp;I also get regular lifts to play squash with a man who has a young daughter (4 years old) who sits with no seat belt on in the back seat while he drives at ridiculous speeds, weaving in and out of traffic, while texting and calling people on his phone. &nbsp;I shut my eyes and pray for the best.<br /><br />I should say something in these circumstances, and I would in my own country in the same situations (I doubt whether it would ever happen though), but if I did (especially in my clumsy Korean) I would be worried that it would come across as me insinuating that they don't care for their children or that they are bad parents. Just like the person who tells the mother of a screaming baby on a long-haul flight to keep him/her quiet, you are never the good guy in such situations. &nbsp;Perhaps I should say something anyway, it might save their lives one day.<br /><br />Yet, from what I know of this mother and of my friend who I play squash with, they would do anything for their children. &nbsp;I am sure they would throw themselves in front of a bus or run into a burning building to save them. &nbsp;I see them dote on them and I simply can't believe that they don't care enough. &nbsp;And the people with their heads in their smart phones as they cross the road; what monetary gain or time-saving are they getting out of doing it? &nbsp;And don't they care about their own lives?<br /><br />It leads me to think that probably the main issue here is ignorance of risk and safety and that this state of being leads easily into ignoring it for profit and time saving. &nbsp;I think this is cultural as I see it everywhere. People's everyday habits and actions are just not attuned to common dangers. &nbsp;Most of these good habitual practices can be taught and drummed into people of a very young age and it can start as soon as children can walk and talk, pick up chopsticks or a knife and fork, or learn about respecting their elders in speech.<br /><br />Crossing the road is a classic example of this. &nbsp;Much of the time, I can find myself walking around in something of a day dream, my senses aren't heightened to danger all the time, even when I am crossing the road (although I do make more of a conscious effort in Korea). &nbsp;But by force of habit, when I hit the edge of a pavement, I look both ways. &nbsp;The funny thing is that it took about a year of living in Korea to look the correct way at the correct time when crossing the road, because in England the traffic comes from the opposite direction. &nbsp;I found myself being more careful because my brain was so confused. &nbsp;You'd think it would be simple, just look the opposite way when you should, but so ingrained the behaviour was, it took almost a year of crossing streets day in day out to get over it.<br /><br />Whilst I think England has much better habits when it comes to safety, I have increasingly felt that the country has gone too far in its concern for it. &nbsp;Masses of red tape need to be dealt with even relating to the most minor risks imaginable. &nbsp;Health and safety has become something that people really detest and it causes a significant reduction in civil liberties and personal responsibility due to the laws and other obstacles you have to overcome to do almost anything at all. &nbsp;It also opens people up for being liable for other's injuries and too many people seek compensation when they don't deserve it. &nbsp;One of the things I enjoy about Korea is that I feel freer living here. &nbsp;I hope it is not inevitable that, in time, improving health and safety will turn into an unhealthy obsession with it, like in England. &nbsp;Why oh why can we not meet in the middle between the two cultures, on this and many other issues?<br /><br /><br />Smudgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00449129060365290678noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8154452806180550551.post-16827590401052237922014-05-05T15:46:00.000-07:002014-05-19T21:39:59.834-07:00Is Everyone Deeply Moved by the Sewol Tragedy?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-71OJctMWLpU/U2gPC06chSI/AAAAAAAABro/X8t8WI304sg/s1600/tears.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-71OJctMWLpU/U2gPC06chSI/AAAAAAAABro/X8t8WI304sg/s1600/tears.jpg" height="223" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>I have been contemplating the possibility that I am one seriously heartless bastard lately. This may surprise some of the people who know me best because I think they would say I am a really nice guy, not short of an opinion or two and a bit argumentative, but nice nonetheless.<br /><br />So why have I been thinking this? &nbsp;Well this is going to sound horrible, but I really don't have a huge emotional response to the Sewol tragedy. &nbsp;However, I am interested in it for sure, it is a fascinating story of calamitous errors, negligence, and corruption, and there is an interesting debate about the causes, the culture, the government, and all that.<br /><br />Don't get me wrong, when I see a report I get a little sad and angry because I teach high schoolers in Korea and they are a great bunch of kids and I am a human being with a soul (no, really I am a human being, the soul bit is a just a figure of speech as I don't actually believe in all that stuff, but you know what I mean). &nbsp;But after I have finished reading an article or watching a report on the Sewol disaster, I emotionally switch-off very quickly. &nbsp;If I am being honest with myself, I think this means that I really don't care that much. &nbsp;What I do care about, though, is the potential for something to happen to me or someone I love in Korea because of a safety concern, as Korea is not the safest of places when it comes to having avoidable accidents. &nbsp;This is, however, slightly mitigated by low crime; I am far more likely to find myself with a bottle smashed over my head for no reason in my own country, for example, so I lose little sleep worrying about a disastrous tomorrow.<br /><br />I lose even less sleep thinking about those poor passengers on the Sewol, but judging by what I have read, everyone else appears to be deeply moved:<br /><br /><a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/korearealtime/2014/05/05/in-korea-childrens-day-becomes-a-day-of-grief/?mod=e2tw">From the Wall Street Journal: &nbsp;Children's Day Becomes a Day of Grief</a><br /><br /><a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2014/04/26/world/asia/south-korea-national-psyche/">From CNN: Ferry Disaster's Toll on Korean Psyche</a><br /><br />I just don't feel this way and maybe I married a heartless Korean woman, but she is hardly at the point of despair either, in fact most I have met, Korean or not, as this tragedy has played itself out over the last few weeks have not seemed that upset either. &nbsp;Maybe they are good at hiding it or I'm terrible at seeing it, but with the people I know well, they must be damn good actors. &nbsp;I simply am not observing this deep sense of sadness, guilt and mourning that other observers say they are experiencing here. &nbsp;Maybe there is a greater intensity occurring in Ansan and the surrounds of Seoul, where most of the writing has come from and where most of the passengers that died came from. &nbsp;But I know one thing for sure, not all expats, not all Koreans, and certainly not everyone worldwide has been "deeply affected by the Sewol tragedy".<br /><br />So, I hate to say it, but I am left with the feeling of scepticism that what is being written by many is an accurate expression of their true emotions, or the country's as a whole, and not just a popular exaggeration. I get the same feeling with news broadcasters, that they are saying what they think they should say rather than genuinely feeling it. <br /><br />This sounds unfair, I don't know what is going on in their heads. &nbsp;In my head, I read with scepticism and the feeling it is a bit sickly sweet and OTT. &nbsp;It is surely my problem, not theirs, what's wrong with me? &nbsp;Why don't I feel the same sense of sadness? &nbsp;I am sure what they wrote is genuine and from the heart, but I can't help but feel the world is awash with people who say they care, but really don't. <br /><br />I don't think I am in the minority of people who are - when you think about it - a bit heartless. &nbsp;With so much suffering in the world not only occurring, but being beamed on to our computers and TV screens, it would be impossible to run our daily lives without regularly going into fits of depression if we cared so much about it all. <br /><br />It could all be down to evolution. &nbsp;Altruism has more than likely evolved in an environment of small groups of, often related, kin. &nbsp;We have evolved to care about the suffering of others right in front of our eyes and to those we are closely related to. &nbsp;Fortunately, the urge regularly fires-up for strangers and even animals when we see them suffering pain or distress, but it still usually needs to be happening right in front of us for us to take notice. Is this why I feel something when I watch a news report about a tragic event, but then it subsides quickly when I switch off (the old 'out of sight, out of mind' tendency)? &nbsp;In a classic argument by Peter Singer (The Shallow Pond Problem), he highlights this misfiring of empathy and morality with a simple thought experiment (skip to 2 minutes in for the argument):<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZrnzMpgISgo?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0' /></div><br /><br />Another favourite writer of mine, Sam Harris, has written about this failure of compassion as well, but also highlights another concerning misfiring of our instinct for compassion, empathy and caring, and that is that it tends to go down with the more people we see or know are suffering (<a href="http://www.sas.upenn.edu/~baron/journal/7303a/jdm7303a.htm">see 'Genocide Neglect', Slovic 2007</a>). This partly explains the success charities have with adoption programs, where instead of giving money to help 1 million people in Africa affected by malaria, we sponsor one child instead. &nbsp;Of course in reality, your money goes to help many people, but by appealing to just one, the charity is more successful in making people donate. &nbsp;Harris explains this 'moral illusion' in the video below at 58mins 30 secs:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="https://ytimg.googleusercontent.com/vi/5fwkvTD6e_I/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/5fwkvTD6e_I&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/5fwkvTD6e_I&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div><br />So it appears that I am not unique. &nbsp;In a way, I am envious of the bloggers and writers I linked to above if they really do genuinely feel that way and show it. &nbsp;Because as much as I know I should feel a great deal more empathy for the passengers and the families of the Sewol tragedy than I did, say, when my in-laws tied a puppy Jindo dog named Noah up outside in the cold (that I took care of for a while, read <a href="http://smudgem.blogspot.kr/2013/11/how-treatment-of-dogs-in-korea-should.html">this post</a>), I don't. &nbsp;I can logically understand that I am wrong here and that I have warped priorities, but I don't feel emotion for the passengers with anywhere near the same force as I did for that dog, not even close.<br /><br />I know this lack of emotion in me for such tragedies in the lives of others is a real problem in the world. Without the emotion, people will fail to act in meaningful ways to stop mass suffering, and sure enough, people do just that, I do just that.<br /><br />I do see a pattern occurring in the world of the internet at the moment. &nbsp;When you work in Korea, you have a lot of time, often at work while desk-warming, to browse around the internet and writing this blog encourages me to do this even more. &nbsp;What I see is heaps of moral outrage, emotion-filled messages of support for those in need, and internet campaigns to improve the lives of others and fight injustice in the world. &nbsp;But too much of it seems empty and pointless at the end of the day; lots of words, no action, and the moral outrage and outpourings of emotion never last long on one subject, we just move onto the next story to get our emotional fix and we are saturated by examples of injustice and sad stories. &nbsp;I think it is problematic because it creates the illusion that something is being done and the illusion that you are helping, when in reality, nothing is being done and you yourself are doing nothing as well. &nbsp;While the internet has a strength in raising awareness of issues, its weakness is definitely in what I describe above.<br /><br />I am troubled by my lack of compassion, not just about the Sewol disaster, but all manner of problems in the world and the fact that until writing this sentence I hadn't really even given a moments thought to the fact that undoubtedly significantly more lives were lost on the roads in Korea this year. &nbsp;Why care about that any less? Perhaps it is impossible to care about everything, or perhaps my heart is not capacious enough, maybe I am indeed truly heartless.<br /><br />Note: &nbsp;Due to criticism that I might be insinuating disingenuous shows of emotion by fellow bloggers I have removed quotes from them out of good taste. &nbsp;It was never my intention to question their motives and I apologise to those I did quote if it came across that way.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Smudgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00449129060365290678noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8154452806180550551.post-57152815684278402772014-04-26T15:24:00.001-07:002014-05-19T21:39:39.318-07:00Lessons from the Buddha and the Sewol Disaster about Living in the Moment<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TjYtSHysdyM/U1ieCc6geZI/AAAAAAAABrY/JddTKWaXmbo/s1600/reclining+buddha.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TjYtSHysdyM/U1ieCc6geZI/AAAAAAAABrY/JddTKWaXmbo/s1600/reclining+buddha.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>I thought I'd focus on a theme that bears some relation to topics I have written about recently as well as a little more regarding the Sewol disaster, and that is the quality of life of teenagers in Korea.<br /><br />One thing that makes this whole disaster possibly even more upsetting is the number of young people who were the victims of it, mostly high school students. <br /><br />The tragic death of a student at my school a couple of months ago got me thinking how much of his short life seems to have been based on studying very hard for a future he will now sadly never experience. &nbsp;Now, with the horrors of the Sewol disaster as well, this has hit me with even sharper focus. &nbsp;I wonder whether the young survivors of the disaster will now look at their lives rather differently and strive for a richer life in the present and not simply search for their (or their parents) ideal future.<br /><br />I am often saddened by the amount of times I ask the question, "What did you do this weekend?", to my students (of a range of ages across all the jobs I've had in Korea, but most recently my high school students) and their answer, even in the school holidays, is "Study". &nbsp;I used to have a private student, of 13 years old, who spent 12 hours every Sunday in the library, and the vast majority of his waking hours on every other day of the week studying as well - not by choice I might add - and his situation was not unique.<br /><br />In recent history, many people in the West have looked to the East for answers about how to live the good life and be happy, and specifically they have often looked to Buddhism to show the way (my own cousin can be named among these people). &nbsp;The West's focus on material possessions, money and building for a better future are all called into question by a belief system that focuses on relinquishing the material and an inner peace in the here and now, rather than dwelling on the past or putting too much emphasis on a dream of a better future. Right here and now is all we really have, yet most people's attention is firmly rooted in the past or the future, never really appreciating the present moment. &nbsp; I, like many people perhaps, often find myself looking forward too much and not enjoying the present enough.<br /><br />I am no expert on, or a follower of, Buddhism, and I believe most of its claims to be bogus, but one thing I am not sceptical about is the value of practices like meditation to enlighten ourselves about the here and now and the importance of it and taking time to try and rid ourselves of the plethora of thoughts and worries buzzing around in our heads. <br /><br />Despite Korea being a country with strong Buddhist traditions and a great deal of temples dotted around its mountainous landscape, Korean society appears to have totally lost touch with some of the principles of Buddhism that could really do it a lot of good.<br /><br />Ironically, I have heard a number of Korean people criticising Western culture for being overly materialistic, but Korea is a place that values material wealth more than any other place I have ever visited. &nbsp;It is also a culture obsessed with the future. People are always searching for a perfect tomorrow; to go to a good university, to get a good job, to get married, to have children, to help pay for their parents retirement, etc. Now we all do this to a degree, but many Koreans take this to the extreme and pressurise young people into thinking about their futures all the time in a very inflexible and expectant way, hence the crazy education culture, the general lack of sleep, and all those hours of hard work and study.<br /><br />From my viewpoint, my hope is that the Sewol disaster might just serve to give Korea as a nation a wake up call (although I'm not terribly optimistic); not just about practices regarding safety, but as a reminder that all of us are just one second away to our ends, one step away from walking in front of a bus, one diagnosis away from falling terminally ill, and one journey away from never returning. &nbsp;If this happens to us at any age, could we look back on our lives and say it was all worthwhile, that we lived as good a life as possible, or even simply that we enjoyed life while we had it? <br /><br />We all need to plan for the future to some extent, but when I think of the all the high school students on that ferry my thoughts turn to just what the last few years of their lives would have been like. &nbsp;If they are anything like the students I have come to know in Korea, most of their time will have been spent with their heads in books, night and day, and being pressured by parents and teachers to prepare for a tomorrow that might never actually come. &nbsp;Korea is now an economically wealthy, well-developed country, isn't it about time it used this fact to make the people happier and aid them in living more fulfilling lives? &nbsp;It feels like this aspect of the disaster has been somewhat ignored, so far at least. &nbsp;With any luck at some point in the near future, the next time a young person dies, their short time on this earth won't seem to be as poorly spent when much greater happiness and life experiences were possible.<br /><br /><br />Smudgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00449129060365290678noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8154452806180550551.post-72953752719228856352014-04-22T22:59:00.001-07:002014-05-19T21:39:10.707-07:00The Sewol Ferry Disaster: Why we Must Question some Aspects of Korean Culture<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-g_8lPKUo5OQ/U1dXrxT7aEI/AAAAAAAABrI/6tN3a7Lf3hA/s1600/Ferry_Sewol_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-g_8lPKUo5OQ/U1dXrxT7aEI/AAAAAAAABrI/6tN3a7Lf3hA/s1600/Ferry_Sewol_1.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 21.280000686645508px; text-align: start;">jinjoo2713 (</span><a class="extiw" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naver" style="background-color: #f9f9f9; background-image: none; color: #663366; font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 21.280000686645508px; text-align: start; text-decoration: none;" title="en:Naver">Naver</a><span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 21.280000686645508px; text-align: start;">&nbsp;User)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>In the aftermath of great tragedies, one must be thorough in drawing conclusions about the causes and the way people respond in times of trouble and be careful not to explain away matters on handy scapegoats. &nbsp;Asking pertinent questions is very much a part of this.<br /><br />The captain of the Sewol and his crew were obviously in the wrong, their individual actions and orders cost lives and they should rightly be brought to justice. &nbsp;However, the reasons behind their actions are complex. &nbsp;It is convenient for everyone, <a href="http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20140421000855">including Park Geun Hye and her government</a>, to brush away the issues highlighted by this disaster as the result of solely individual errors and incompetence. &nbsp;This may be so, but they have to be more thorough than that.<br /><br />There have been a <a href="http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-04-21/does-ferry-disaster-expose-korea-s-flaws">variety</a> of <a href="https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/opinon/2014/04/202_155763.html">articles</a> written that place a fair amount of <a href="http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2014/04/17/2014041701615.html">blame on Korean culture</a> for what happened (many from Koreans themselves), and inevitably people have become upset, calling this simplistic and racist (mostly non-Koreans). &nbsp;I have two thoughts on this; 1) Yes, it is simplistic to say that culture is the sole cause for the disaster, of course it's not, but I have not heard anyone make this claim, only that it may be part of the reason for it or exacerbated it; 2) It is not racist, how can it be? &nbsp;We are talking about culture, not DNA. People that constantly make this claim are using a kind of language which is not true, unhelpful, and emotive.<br /><br />The truth is, individuals are significantly influenced by the culture in which they are brought up and this drastically impacts on their individual thoughts and actions. &nbsp;It is too simplistic to say culture caused the disaster, but did it play a role? &nbsp;I would argue that the evidence so far suggests it may very well have done, and it is not wrong to suggest it as a possibility and should not be insulting to do so.<br /><br />I think there are two main aspects of Korean culture which may have helped cause or exacerbate the catastrophe (and I think they are linked):<br /><br /><ol><li>Hierarchical Respect Culture</li><li>A disregard for rules and regulations and lack of knowledge of safety procedures</li></ol><br />Of the two factors, number 2 might be the most important. &nbsp;"But this hasn't got anything to do with culture", I hear you say. &nbsp;But you'd be wrong. &nbsp;Sure, one can't blame it on Confucianism (the usual turn-to) or pinpoint it to other parts of cultural history, but a lack of respect for safety protocols, rules, and regulations is a modern day cultural issue in Korea and is something all of us who live here regularly see. This is why I shake my head in disbelief that articles like this pop-up, titled "<a href="http://www.vice.com/read/stop-blaming-south-koreas-culture-for-last-weeks-ferry-disaster">Stop Blaming Korean Culture for Last Week's Ferry Disaster</a>", especially when they go on to write this:<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.375px;">"The real problem, at all levels, seems to be protocol—or rather, the absence of one. Kim Su Bin, a classmate of Lim’s at Danwon High School in Ansan, pointed out that passengers did not receive any safety instruction before or during the trip, and that life jackets were available on the fourth floor but not on the third. A communication’s officer for the&nbsp;</span><em style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.375px;">Sewol</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.375px;">&nbsp;has&nbsp;</span><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/18/world/asia/south-korean-ferry-accident.html?_r=0" style="background-color: white; color: black; cursor: pointer; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24.375px; text-decoration: none;">admitted</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.375px;">&nbsp;to the crew’s lack of evacuation training, or the enforcement thereof. And the indecision written all over the transcripts between harbor officials and the&nbsp;</span><em style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.375px;">Sewol</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.375px;">&nbsp;crew reveals an apparent dearth of actionable protocol for either side in the event of such a calamity."</span></blockquote>The author then goes on to quote a journalist in South Korea:<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.375px;">“The main point is not culture,” said Jaehwan Cho, a Seoul-based journalist covering the events on his&nbsp;</span><a href="https://twitter.com/hohocho" style="background-color: white; color: black; cursor: pointer; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24.375px; text-decoration: none;">Twitter</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.375px;">, in an interview on Sunday. “The main point is government structure... We need to turn our eyes to the government situation, government atmosphere. If we can revise those things, I don’t think this kind of disaster will happen again.”</span></blockquote><br />He is at least partly right, government is an issue, but the lack of a safety protocol, instructions, lack of training, etc, could very well be heavily linked to culture because this is not something unique to this situation and it is not all the government's fault. &nbsp;And after all, where does government come from if not the people and the culture that created it?<br /><br />When I spoke to my wife about all this, she told me that when she worked as a nurse in a hospital in Korea she was given no fire safety training, but legally she was supposed to, she was even given a form to sign to say she had. &nbsp;When she said she had no such training, she was simply told to sign it by her superiors anyway. &nbsp;Irresponsible of my wife? In the atmosphere of the Korean workplace, in reality she had no choice whatsoever, you simply can't question your superiors, if she had refused, her life would have been made very difficult (a subtle way respect hierarchies reduce safety).<br /><br />So, if there was a fire in that hospital, you might well have had a similar situation occurring as to what happened on the Sewol; panicked people searching for members of staff to tell them where to go and what to do and the response and information would have been poor because the problem is that the patients in the hospital and the passengers on the ferry would have had about as much information on safety as the people who were supposed to be in charge.<br /><br />Also, people in junior positions are regularly thrown into the deep end and given responsibility for things they perhaps should have been better trained and equipped for. In my wife's case, she became a surgery room nurse and her training consisted of sitting-in on only one or two surgeries and watching (she did many different kinds of joint surgery) and then told to learn terms and instruments at home on her own time. Basically, she had no training and learnt on the job - and was often shouted at and bullied by doctors when she made inevitable mistakes every now and then. &nbsp;To make matters worse, in the quest for profits and the busy world of Korea, she was forced to rush from patient to patient, hastily sterilising instruments (and often having minor accidents as a result; cuts, burns etc), and feeling extreme pressure to finish important and possibly hazardous tasks quickly (빨리 빨리!).<br /><br />I see this kind of thing everywhere in Korea, therefore I think it is fair to say that this has become part of the culture and needs changing. &nbsp;Whether you agree with this or not, my hypothesis is not racist because I am saying it is cultural, not racial, and because it is not about race, it is something that can be changed; it is not written in their DNA and not set in stone.<br /><br />The exact reason why I believe hierarchical respect culture was a factor is different to most other commentators on this subject. &nbsp;I simply don't know what passengers from Western countries would have done had they been given the same orders to stay below deck by the captain. &nbsp;I actually think saying they were being overly obedient is probably a bit simplistic, perhaps this was a factor, but I think this is something we can't really know and it is harsh and insensitive to blame the passengers, who were obviously scared victims of someone else's mistakes and a desperately unfortunate situation.<br /><br />As I have mentioned already the effect of respect culture is probably more subtle on this disaster. &nbsp;It is the role of the crew and the captain that needs more focus and these are the questions I would ask:<br /><br /><ol><li>Why didn't any of the crew question the captain's orders, and if they did, why did it not have any effect?</li><li>Why was the captain away from the bridge when the accident occurred?</li><li>Why did it take so long to correct the original order of staying below deck?</li><li>Why did they go off the original course in the first place?</li><li>Why was the response so slow by rescue teams?</li></ol><div><br /></div><div>Of course we don't know the answers to any of these questions yet, but I am going to highlight some of the side effects I see day to day in Korea of rigid respect hierarchies and I will leave it to you to connect the dots:</div><div><br /></div><div><ol><li>People rarely question orders of superiors, even when they are obviously wrong sometimes.</li><li>The sense of entitlement being of higher age or rank gives people often affords them the luxury of sitting back and letting those below them do most of the difficult work.</li><li>When mistakes are made by elders or those of superior rank, they can be very stubborn in admitting them and will often carry on regardless or hope everything will be alright in order to save face.</li><li>Protocol, rules, and regulations are often ignored by people who have high status because they feel they know better and are above them.</li><li>Respect hierarchies are inefficient, causing a lack of initiative in individuals and can cause slow responses by waiting for orders of superiors.</li></ol><div><br /></div></div><div>Now I am not saying these factors are all definitely related and this is exactly what happened, but it is everyone's responsibility to consider all of these a possibility. &nbsp;In fact they are questions you could ask people of any culture, but Korean culture accentuates things when it comes to issues of status and respect. &nbsp;If you refuse to acknowledge them for fear of being a racist or upsetting those of another culture, you may be sending others to their doom in the future. &nbsp;People's lives, whoever and wherever they are, are more important than the risk of offending cultural sensibilities. <br /><br />Finally, if someone were to hypothesise that the 7/7 bombings in the UK had something to do with British culture, why on earth would I be offended? &nbsp;I just don't understand it. &nbsp;In fact, one could make a good argument that British culture played a role (over-politeness, political correctness, and tolerance of even the dangerous and intolerant for fear of giving offence) in the <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/universityeducation/8560409/Universities-The-breeding-grounds-of-terror.html">creation of the Muslim radicals</a> <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/01/04/leiken.abdulmutallab.london/">(the UK seems to be quite good at cultivating them)</a> who hatched the plot and carried it out. &nbsp;Not only that, but even if it had nothing to do with British culture in the end, it would have been our responsibility to question it (and many did) and at least rule it out.<br /><br />In fact the two examples correlate rather nicely because in the case of the 7/7 bombings it was the actions of psychotic and brainwashed individuals; in the Sewol disaster it seems it was the actions of incompetent individuals in positions of responsibility. &nbsp;We can leave it at that on both disasters and hope both never happen again, but it must be discovered whether in each case such disasters were a one-off or whether there is something about each culture that might encourage future similar events. &nbsp;In the case of British culture, might it encourage radical Muslims to flourish? &nbsp;And is there something about Korean culture that encourages incompetence, danger and confusion, in potentially dangerous situations, to flourish?<br /><br />The only way to find out and be as thorough as possible in avoiding future disasters is to ask questions, which it seems is easy and not at all insulting to do with British or American culture, but when we do it to non-Western cultures like Korea, we suddenly turn into racist simpletons.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><br />Smudgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00449129060365290678noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8154452806180550551.post-12478800018824324182014-04-09T18:19:00.002-07:002014-05-19T21:38:47.030-07:00Korean Teenagers and Well-Being<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JqkezStyAU4/U0ThTxvmwmI/AAAAAAAABqw/j67FZGHLGsk/s1600/smiley+face.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JqkezStyAU4/U0ThTxvmwmI/AAAAAAAABqw/j67FZGHLGsk/s1600/smiley+face.jpg" height="319" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Over the past two years or so I have written frequently about what a stressful and depressing life Korean teenagers are having in Korea, so it was to my surprise that South Korea came third recently <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/global-youth-well-being-index-2014-2014-4">in a study of well-being in teenagers from different countries</a>.<br /><br />In the linked article above, I do think the title is a little deceptive, in that although well-being and happiness are linked, they are not the same. &nbsp;I would argue strongly that South Korea is not an example of a country with especially happy teenagers, and I'm sure many would be on my side. &nbsp;Korea's notorious suicide statistics and <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/korearealtime/2014/03/20/poll-shows-half-of-korean-teenagers-have-suicidal-thoughts/">a recent poll finding that about half of all teenagers have contemplated suicide</a>, would also seem to contradict the notion that South Korean teenagers are the third happiest in the world.<br /><br />It is interesting to see how the study was compiled and how it favoured Korea in the parameters it measured:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">"To create the index, the researchers looked at 40 indicators to assess "citizen participation, economic opportunity, education, health, information and communications technology (ICT), and safety and security" among the world's youth (defined as people 12 to 24)."</span></blockquote><br />Listed in among the factors quoted are some of the really fantastic things about Korea. There is no doubt that in some departments Korea has done many things right, especially the last three; health (in young people), ICT, and safety and security. &nbsp;General organisation and efficiency in Korea is also something I find much better than in many countries, particularly my own. &nbsp;Life for teenagers in Korea is certainly convenient, well-organised, and relatively free from dangerous temptations and situations.<br /><br />However, the problem with fairly narrow studies like this is the lack of attention to detail and the message it may send out. &nbsp;Education is a perfect example; while I am sure Korea scored highly for education (it regularly tops world league tables), Korean education of the young is something that significantly contributes to unhappiness. &nbsp;One can't help but also notice that if you keep students cooped-up in a classroom all day (and on many occasions, all-night), of course they'll be safer. &nbsp;Just like house cats have less danger and tend to live longer than those that are given free reign to go outside and come and go as they please. &nbsp;But what kind of cat would you rather be?<br /><br />Economic opportunities is another thing to be careful in making assumptions about happiness, because while Koreans do have opportunities and in my experience finding a job is much easier (for Koreans and non-Koreans) than in my own country (<a href="http://www.oecd.org/korea/OECD-SocietyAtaGlance2014-Highlights-Korea.pdf">Korea has the lowest unemployment rate in the OECD</a>), work life in Korea is stressful. &nbsp;Koreans work some of the longest hours, taking away time with family and friends and time for relaxation. Hierarchies at work also cause troubles, giving their bosses too much control of their lives. &nbsp;Young people are always at the bottom of these hierarchies, often leading to the worst of working conditions, and the lowest levels of respect and job satisfaction.<br /><br />But even if it was crystal clear that South Korea was doing a better job than most other countries with regard to the well-being of its youth, does this mean it is doing good enough? <br /><br />What has always fascinated me about Korea is that its problems are so obvious, and what's more Koreans are so aware of the problems they have in their society, they just seem powerless or unwilling to change them. &nbsp;It is not a question of Johny foreigner coming over here and noticing the problems they can't see, in my experience very few Koreans are ignorant of the issues they have in society.<br /><br />In a heartbeat South Korean society could make things so much better for young people if they simply took some of the weight off their shoulders. &nbsp;The obsessive compulsive nature of education in Korea is the major culprit of unhappiness.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9c4uMlPmZoQ/U0TiDlDAZnI/AAAAAAAABq4/js6KygQcHhU/s1600/sad+lego.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9c4uMlPmZoQ/U0TiDlDAZnI/AAAAAAAABq4/js6KygQcHhU/s1600/sad+lego.jpg" /></a></div><br /><br />Even small steps would make a great difference; students could still study long hours for example, just give them less homework and encourage more sleep. &nbsp;<a href="http://smudgem.blogspot.kr/2014/03/koreas-war-on-sleep.html">As I said in last week's post</a>, why are Korean high school students sleeping only 4 or 5 hours a night? Surely, a healthy amount of sleep would improve their performance and make them happier at the same time. <br /><br />The study on well-being actually does show some huge positives for the way Korean society has been organised. &nbsp;Korea is so close to being a place that is really great to live. &nbsp;There are many ways in which Korea trumps other places in the world to live, but fails in ways that are so unnecessary it becomes frustrating to be a part of it all. <br /><br />In my own personal opinion, there are a few key issues that would really make Korea a wonderful place to live if they could change their ways slightly:<br /><br />1. A less rigid adherence to respect culture hierarchies.<br />2. A greater respect for worker's rights (and individual rights generally).<br />3. Less concern with petty status games and jealousy.<br />4. Being less OCD when it comes to education.<br />5. Being less nationalistic.<br />6. Enforcing laws (e.g. traffic laws).<br /><br />Korea has always struck me as a nation of extremes in these regards; it would only take a little adjustment of each of these factors and one might see Korea rising to the top of more positive tables and statistics, like those concerned with well-being, and lifting off the bottom of the less desirable measures of societies, like suicides.<br /><br /><br /><br />Smudgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00449129060365290678noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8154452806180550551.post-7527048744234952202014-03-29T15:32:00.001-07:002014-05-19T21:38:19.626-07:00Korea's Contempt for Sleep<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ifFz3Uertac/UzUXblRmwKI/AAAAAAAABqY/6pi4xE0S2io/s1600/sleep.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ifFz3Uertac/UzUXblRmwKI/AAAAAAAABqY/6pi4xE0S2io/s1600/sleep.png" height="246" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/melaniehaiken/2014/03/20/lack-of-sleep-kills-brain-cells-new-study-suggests/">Recent research suggests that a lack of quality sleep can kill brain cells</a>, and this comes on the back of a great deal of research suggesting a range of health-related problems due to not getting enough shut-eye.<br /><br />As a person who is almost obsessively into exercise, I have always been aware of the value of sleep in rejuvenating the body, but I had always just assumed that everyone else did also. &nbsp;I think most people in England know how important sleep is and try to do their best to make sure they get enough, although many ultimately fail for different reasons. &nbsp;In Korea, however, I am regularly surprised just how little sleep people are getting and how most simply don't see this as a big deal.<br /><br />The story starts with my high school students - who I always feel sorry for. &nbsp;These guys are at high school from 8am until 10.30pm and this is bad enough, but I asked them one time about what they do when they finish school and some of the replies were quite shocking. &nbsp;Some - indeed many - go for more schooling at a private academy (Hagwon) and many have homework on top of this. &nbsp;I questioned them about when they go to bed and most said about 1 or 2am. &nbsp;They then usually woke up at about 6 - 7am on school days. &nbsp;This gave an average of about 4 to 5 hours sleep a night for most students, 6 hours being a luxury.<br /><br />I would go as far to say that maintaining such a sleep pattern in growing adolescent boys is impossible, or at least unhealthy, and it may actually be detrimental to their studies (it must be, surely). &nbsp;Sure enough, high school students can be a sleepy lot at school, which makes them sleep in classes and lose concentration. They also talk about the subject constantly:<br /><br /><b>Teacher</b>: What do you wish?<br /><b>Student</b>: &nbsp;I wish I could sleep all day.<br /><br /><b>Teacher</b>: What did you do at the weekend?<br /><b>Student</b>: &nbsp;Sleep.<br /><br /><b>Teacher</b>: &nbsp;What do you enjoy?<br /><b>Student</b>: &nbsp;Sleep.<br /><br /><b>Teacher</b>: &nbsp;When are you happy?<br /><b>Student</b>: &nbsp;When I'm sleeping.<br /><br /><b>Teacher: &nbsp;</b>What did you do in your vacation?<br /><b>Student: &nbsp;</b>Sleep (and study).<br /><br /><b>Teacher: &nbsp;</b>What's your ambition in life?<br /><b>Student: &nbsp;</b>To sleep for 24 hours in a day.<br /><br />I could go on and on, I'm sure my students mention sleep in almost every class. <br /><br />The physical health risks of lack of sleep are well documented, but there is also a <a href="http://www.express.co.uk/news/health/416463/How-lack-of-sleep-can-harm-mental-health">significant risk to mental health</a>. &nbsp;<a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/korearealtime/2014/03/20/poll-shows-half-of-korean-teenagers-have-suicidal-thoughts/">A recent poll in South Korea suggests that half of Korean teenagers contemplate suicide.</a>&nbsp; The combination of societal pressure for success, long hours of study and lack of sleep seems to be taking its toll on young people.<br /><br />It is not just young people, though, a general contempt for sleep seems to pervade throughout Korean culture, synonymous with the hard-work attitude Koreans feel has elevated their economy and wealth in such a short period of time.<br /><br />I teach a couple in their fifties conversational English in the evening after school. They have an annoying habit of calling me 30 minutes before their scheduled class sometimes and cancelling. Sometimes I rush through my day, fitting in workouts in the early morning so I can teach them in the evening (sometimes I am even on the way to their place when they cancel). &nbsp;I told the wife of the couple they need to cancel earlier because I am very busy, but this seems to have made little difference. &nbsp;Anyway, this led us on to chatting about how busy they were, the wife especially. &nbsp;She seemed to own at least a couple of businesses and said she was always in meetings and at work, or at least working at home. &nbsp;I asked her what time she went to sleep at night and she said at about midnight; not too bad, I thought. &nbsp;But when I asked her what time she woke up, she replied, "at 2 or 3 am". &nbsp;I couldn't quite believe her, she doesn't even look that tired most of the time; 2 or 3 hours of sleep a night after working all day?!<br /><br />Now, she could be lying of course, but I don't know why she would and even in the unlikely event that she was, one would have to wonder why she would proudly say that she only had 2 or 3 hours sleep a night. <br /><br />This seems to be the case with basically everyone I meet here, I think I am yet to find a person who sleeps 7 hours a night or over and there is a strange tone of pride in their voice when they tell me how little they sleep. Are people really working this hard and sleeping this little? <br /><br />Recently, Korea hit the headlines for more negative reasons in articles that claimed <a href="http://www.businesskorea.co.kr/article/3366/work-life-balance-korean-workers-show-lowest-productivity-oecd-despite-long-overtime">South Koreans had the lowest productivity at work in the OECD.</a>&nbsp; <a href="http://thesawon.blogspot.kr/2014/02/why-korea-has-worst-productivity-in-oecd.html">This article</a> suggests many very good reasons for this, but lack of sleep doesn't really get a mention. However, very much prevalent in the summation of the situation is that appearing to work hard is more important than actually doing so. &nbsp;Is that what people are doing when I ask them about their sleep patterns? &nbsp;Are they just giving me the impression that they live hard, busy lives? &nbsp;My own feeling is that there could be a combination of both true hard-work and lack of rest and some porky pies to make them look even more diligent.<br /><br />It is true that, at certain periods in your life, you may need to sacrifice quality sleep temporarily in order to get important things done, but there appears to be something more permanent about Korea's attitude towards sleeping. &nbsp;It is taking, "You snooze, you lose" to extraordinary new levels and apparently many are proud of it and parents, businesses, schools, and society demand it too. &nbsp;Could Koreans benefit from more sleep? Surely, their lives would be much happier and more productive if they took a little more time for some quality rest at night.<br /><br /><br />Smudgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00449129060365290678noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8154452806180550551.post-8881425034933697052014-03-16T17:12:00.001-07:002014-03-16T17:12:44.732-07:00Offending Adoptees, a Defence, and a Theory Confirmed - Part 2In this post I am going to deal more directly with some of the points made on a Korean adoptee's blog (<a href="http://peaceshannon.tumblr.com/post/79441286458/saturday-night-live-koreas-adoption-sketch-no-need">peaceshannon.tumblr.com</a>) and finishes with my final word on the subject of comedy and how important it actually is. &nbsp;This is by request and I realise I am going on about this, so it will stop here.<br /><br />I dealt with the first couple of points in the last post, in a more general fashion because many people had the same arguments, let's finish-off the rest and carry on where we left off with point 3:<br /><br /><b>#3 &nbsp;"Just because other "graver" things are mocked, doesn't make them all ok. &nbsp;It makes them all wrong."</b><br /><br />I find this a bit revealing. &nbsp;So I would venture a guess that almost everyone will have seen at least one of the shows/films I mentioned in my original post and what Shannon is referring to, i.e.:<br /><br />Family Guy<br />Only Fools and Horses<br />Life of Brian<br />Seasame Street<br />Hot Fuzz<br /><br />If you laughed at any or found them funny, you are wrong to have done so, apparently, as they were all an example of the damaging humour you saw with SNL Korea that end up not just offending people, but infringing their rights. &nbsp;Now you see how I might say that there is a danger in political correctness ruining all our fun. &nbsp;I will leave my readers to decide, but I for one don't think I am a bad person or wrong for having a laugh at the jokes in these shows/films or having a little giggle at the SNL skit.<br /><br />Just for fun, how about this clip from The Simpsons, sorry it is in Spanish and a bit poor quality, I guess they delete the English ones from youtube, but many of you might remember this and if you don't, you get the idea:<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/Nm5LJ4ZlORo?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0' /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Why did I never hear Vietnam war veterans getting outraged by this scene? &nbsp;The Simpsons is also probably one of the most world famous TV shows ever (hence the translation into Spanish here). &nbsp;The SNL sketch was just satire of a taboo subject, I believe the intention was not to directly mock Korean adoptees, just like this clip did not set out to mock the people who died or suffered from trauma in the Vietnam War.</div><br /><b>#4 &nbsp;"Y</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span data-reactid=".v.1:3:1:$comment10152059678009482_29223968:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$28:0"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>ou don’t get to decide what situations are worse than the subject of adoption or birth family search. unless you have actually been adopted or embarked on a birth family search. you acknowledge you can’t understand these situations but somehow you still think you can assign which ones are worse and which are not worth getting outraged about?"</b></span></span></span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span data-reactid=".v.1:3:1:$comment10152059678009482_29223968:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$28:0"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><br /></b></span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><span data-reactid=".v.1:3:1:$comment10152059678009482_29223968:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$28:0"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I dealt with some of this in part 1, but I think I can say that having a family member brutally murdered (say your mother or a child) is worse than being adopted or searching for family. &nbsp;What do you think? &nbsp;Seems pretty obvious. &nbsp;I think both situations are horrible for sure, but I do think one is worse than the other, yes. &nbsp;I base this on the simple logic that having a living parent or child is better than having, not just a dead parent or child, but a murdered one.</span></span></span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span data-reactid=".v.1:3:1:$comment10152059678009482_29223968:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$28:0"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span data-reactid=".v.1:3:1:$comment10152059678009482_29223968:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$28:0"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>#5 &nbsp;</b></span></span></span><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Droid Sans'; line-height: 18px;">(Her interpretation of what I wrote) read: adoptees can be offended, but i deem them lame for voicing their anger and hurt over the dominant and degrading discourse about adoptees. i don’t think the way that adoptees have been separated by their families, language, cultural, and identities are “truly damaging.” why? because i said so. and&nbsp;</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Droid Sans'; line-height: 18px;">who am i? the random white guy who knows the universal truth of who has the right to get offended (but of course, i’ve already acknowledged multiple times that i don’t really know or care about it).</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Droid Sans'; line-height: 18px;">&nbsp;</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Droid Sans'; line-height: 18px;">and even though i so generously acknowledge their right to complain, i think they’re stupid. and my opinion (on a subject that i don’t know anything about) is valuable, of course.</span></b><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span data-reactid=".v.1:3:1:$comment10152059678009482_29223968:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$28:0"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><span data-reactid=".v.1:3:1:$comment10152059678009482_29223968:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$28:0"><span style="font-family: inherit;">My criticism was specifically about that comedy sketch and nothing about the general discourse. &nbsp;I would never say that being separated from your family, language, culture, and identity isn't damaging or traumatic. &nbsp;</span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.200000762939453px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I cannot judge anything other than the reaction to the skit in question, in every other way I cannot comment about their situation. &nbsp;</span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;">This was a comedy sketch though, and not fact in the news or a documentary. Comedy has to be edgy and needs the freedom to be so. &nbsp;It is the price of freedom that sometimes people get offended, they can always switch off the TV. &nbsp;No one gets to decide what is funny for you.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><span data-reactid=".v.1:3:1:$comment10152059678009482_29223968:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$28:0"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><span data-reactid=".v.1:3:1:$comment10152059678009482_29223968:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$28:0"><span style="font-family: inherit;">At this point I would like to point out that I have no time for defending bullying on the street or wisecracks to undeserving vulnerable people. &nbsp;My defense is solely for comedy that you can choose to watch/listen to or not, not when jokes are forced on you when you are going about your day at work or on the street, something I don't consider to be comedy.</span></span></span><br /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><span data-reactid=".v.1:3:1:$comment10152059678009482_29223968:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$28:0"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><span data-reactid=".v.1:3:1:$comment10152059678009482_29223968:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$28:0"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I would also like to point out that me being a 'White guy' should not be relevant to the argument. &nbsp;Can you imagine what response I'd get if I used the line, "Who is she, just a random Asian chick" to belittle her opinion and score points in argument? &nbsp;I can, and it wouldn't be pretty.</span></span></span><br /><br />Political correctness achieved great things, but it's time has passed, to a degree. People are aware of important issues now, most are not racists, for example, like in the days of my grandfather and in need of consciousness-raising. &nbsp;General opinion is for equality and human rights (rightly so) so it is time to be open and honest about controversial issues and to not restrict freedom of expression. &nbsp;I admit, perhaps the situation is not quite this way in Korea and perhaps there is a greater role for political correctness in the form of raising consciousness, but c<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.200000762939453px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">omedy plays such a vital role as a tool for freedom of expression. &nbsp;To me it is vital that comedians are not always looking over their shoulders and are not pressured into trying to please everyone, because they never will be able to achieve it and culture at large would lose something too precious if this was the case.</span></span><br /><br />No one is saying people are calling for censorship, but prevailing public opinion at the moment in Western discourse encourages a natural censorship of many ideas by instilling fear of freedom of expression and opinions that I believe is very damaging and I will argue against this whenever I see it.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />Smudgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00449129060365290678noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8154452806180550551.post-38504147341943463222014-03-15T16:11:00.001-07:002014-03-15T16:11:41.808-07:00Offending Adoptees, a Defence, and a Theory Confirmed - Part 1<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Bvn0kP4DTOI/UyTd5MePIzI/AAAAAAAABqE/mfo9rr-IKYc/s1600/monster.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Bvn0kP4DTOI/UyTd5MePIzI/AAAAAAAABqE/mfo9rr-IKYc/s1600/monster.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm no monster (really!)</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Some thought that I would be shocked by how much people disliked my previous post, however, I have been blogging for a while now and even when I talk about fluffy things and buttercups I find that someone is always offended. &nbsp;So when I squared-up against the adoptee community, I was more than aware I'd be putting myself in the same league as child snatchers and puppy stranglers. &nbsp;I don't set out to offend people, and I guess I am sorry if I do, but honesty and freedom or expression, for me, take precedent.<br /><br />There were many misunderstandings of what I wrote and I must accept some of the blame for this and perhaps I was a little too confrontational and the blog post read like a bit of a rant. &nbsp;I am just sick and tired of 'offense', I feel saturated with it everywhere, it destroys honesty in argument and a good deal of fun.<br /><br /><b>#1. &nbsp;You don't care about the situation, how can you possibly understand enough to criticise?</b><br /><b><br /></b>The point I was trying to make (which I was a bit clumsy about in the original post, I'll admit) is that before this fuss occurred I had spent precisely zero hours worrying about how difficult things must be for adoptees. Everyday, I care more about what's for lunch at my school and have more concern for how hungry I am. That makes me sound like a monster, doesn't it? &nbsp;But unless you are actually an adoptee yourself, I am pretty sure that my prior concern for adoptees is the norm in most people. &nbsp;So, in my mind the excessive reaction by non-adoptees looked a bit odd. &nbsp;If it is any consolation, the reading I have done now about the adoption issue in Korea, because of all of this, has enlightened me to the difficulties they face. Of course, I would never have been for infringing on any of their rights anyway, I simply don't think SNL Korea did infringe on their rights or encourage others to do so.<br /><br />Not everyone who went ballistic about SNL's sketch was an adoptee, so I do have my suspicions it is ego and the warm feeling of moral superiority that motivates the the non-adoptees to join in with the outrage.<br /><br />How can I criticise? &nbsp;I will include my reasons in point 2.<br /><br /><b>#2. &nbsp;</b><b>How can you comment on a group of people - and say they are overreacting - who find themselves at the butt of a joke, without out having experienced their situation?</b><br /><br />I don't need to understand how adoptees feel or to know everything about them to criticise their reaction. &nbsp;I never said they had no right to be offended or that they shouldn't be upset, just that the outrage was not necessary or appropriate, it was the excessive nature of the reaction I was criticising (perhaps I should have made this clearer). &nbsp;The logic of this is clear when you go to an extreme example, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jyllands-Posten_Muhammad_cartoons_controversy" target="_blank">like the reaction to a Danish newspaper publishing a cartoon of the prophet Mohammed</a> (<a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/liberaldemocrats/10588267/Lib-Dem-candidate-receives-death-threats-for-tweeting-Prophet-Mohammed-cartoon.html" target="_blank">and the more current Jesus and Mo cartoon controversy in the UK</a>). You don't have to be a Muslim to have a valid criticism about the reaction of some Muslims to these cases.<br /><br />To make this crystal clear, consider this line in a comment I received:<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px; text-align: justify;">Anon: "And no, I don't know much about your life, nor am I interested in who you are, what you do, what you think."</span></blockquote><br />Firstly, they are obviously interested in what I think or they wouldn't have replied to me, and he/she did write exceptionally long multiple replies too. &nbsp;But they judged my opinion without knowing anything about me. Were they wrong to do that? &nbsp;By most people's logic they were, not by mine, she/he is perfectly entitled to criticise me.<br /><br />How can I justify myself? &nbsp;Every one has the right to be offended, but they don't have a right not to be offended. &nbsp;When it comes to comedy, as I pointed out, a range of people in all sorts of vulnerable or sensitive positions are made fun of. &nbsp;I don't see anything special about adoptees. &nbsp;This is a principle I live my life by and one I have written about many times and read-up on quite a lot. &nbsp;I don't need to fully understand the adoptee position to be against their reaction because of this.<br /><br />If the response to SNL's sketch was just some letters explaining the offense taken by the adoptee community, then fine. &nbsp;The ball would then have been in SNL's court as to how to react. &nbsp;If they had issued an apology in this case, you then know it would have been genuine as well. &nbsp;What the general outrage and overreaction created was pressure. &nbsp;Now we will never know whether the program makers were genuinely sorry or whether they are just watching their own backs and cursing the adoptee community in silence.<br /><br />In fact, I see an overreaction of the kind seen against the sketch as being far more likely to encourage prejudice than the comedy. &nbsp;Just put yourself in the head of some idiot who really would make an adoptee's life difficult, are they more likely to have their prejudices enhanced by a short comedy skit that they probably might not even had seen, had it not been for the reaction, or by seeing the mass outrage and rebelling against it? &nbsp;I would argue the latter is far more likely.<br /><br />The reaction to the SNL Korea sketch, by far too many, was not a balanced, reasonable one and if people wanted to go about proving my point about the overreaction to the skit, the commenters on this blog, went about it in just the right way. &nbsp;Here are some examples (anonymous contributers, unless stated, and I apologise for the profanities, I did not write them, but feel it is valuable to show them):<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">&nbsp;Burndog: "<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px; text-align: justify;">You're peddling cheap click bait. I'm outraged about this fake outrage is just a sad attempt to gain clicks as a sideshow to the original car crash. It's pathetic mate."</span></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">&nbsp;"<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px; text-align: justify;">You have this terrible way of disagreeing with people that is totally fucking ridiculous. How about you show us your fucking balls, and take each point that Shannon made and actually respond to each one? Like she did with your post. How about you try a reasonable fucking discussion rather than your typical ignorant fucking tripe"</span></blockquote>This same person got all upset and supported a guy in his outrage when I said he was "Fooling himself" and "Misrepresenting me" the other week for (specifically) a comment he made. &nbsp;The outrage of this statement went on for days. &nbsp;But when he accuses me of blatant dishonesty, that's fine in his eyes - and he doesn't see any hypocrisy - because I don't agree with him and it's him saying it not me. &nbsp;Seems this guy's principles to and fro depending on what is beneficial to his arguments and who he likes and dislikes &nbsp;He even had the cheek to call me a hypocrite! <br /><br />In the second part of the comment, he is referring to a comment I made by mistake because I followed the link given and thought it was just a reblog of his blog (if you go to both links [<a href="http://peaceshannon.tumblr.com/post/79441286458/saturday-night-live-koreas-adoption-sketch-no-need" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="http://burndogturns.tumblr.com/post/79439290572/saturday-night-live-koreas-adoption-sketch-no-need" target="_blank">here</a>] you might understand why I made this error), which I had already read, so I didn't read the link posted in my comments section. &nbsp;I have read the piece now and I am responding to it in this post and more specifically in the next. Nice to see he didn't overreact or anything though, eh? The misunderstanding exposed what kind of guy he is, I think (<a href="http://burndogturns.tumblr.com/post/79534973634/pissy-clissy-no-clue-no-need-for-a-lobotomy" target="_blank">see his post on his blog too!</a>&nbsp;and his full comments in my comments section). &nbsp;Anyway, here are some more revealing comments:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px; text-align: justify;">"YOU ARE AN ARSEHOLE! TROLLLLLL"</span></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">&nbsp;"<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px; text-align: justify;">you have NOOOO right to talk about this"</span></blockquote>So I have no right to an opinion?<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">&nbsp;"j<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px; text-align: justify;">ust because you stuck your dick in a korean and married her doesn't mean you know shit about korea or korean people."</span></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">&nbsp;"<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px; text-align: justify;">Korean adoptees, I suggest we ignore this guy because he is talking through his ass and hasn't the intellect to realise it. I suggest we just make jokes about him getting 'arse-raped' by his Korean wife with a kitchen implement whilst she yells, "British humour isn't funny, you get it!” [shove] “Anniyo funny!” [shove] “Stupid yeong-gook!” [shove] [canned laughter, he cries] [shove, he cries some more] "I love you honey, let's never be parted!" he cries. [schmaltzy music] [shove, he cries]"</span></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">"<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px; text-align: justify;">I think it would be hilarious to watch a comedy where he was tormented and his most vulnerable moments of natural anguish were exposed to me so that I could get a great laugh. Then, his life would be of value on this earth. Come on, Chris, whadja think? Oh, wait, we don't need your permission or your opinion. I would be so much more ENTERTAINED if your emotions were raw, real, and you were cornered. That'd be FUNNY! The more true suffering you experience, well, you know, a bundle of laughs for ME!"</span></blockquote>No overreactions there then either, eh? &nbsp;They were pretty entertaining though, I must say.<br /><br />The last comment is trying to teach me a lesson by trying to say that the SNL sketch is comparable to what they are saying about me. &nbsp;I don't think the two situations are at all analogous as no specific person was tormented on SNL Korea and as I said in the original post, I don't think it was the intention of SNL Korea to directly insult adoptees. &nbsp;But again, it is another example of obvious overreaction.<br /><br />The reaction that most confirmed what I was saying, however, came after this comment by a guy named Eric:<br /><blockquote><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px; text-align: justify;">Eric: I've read your post and the various responses to it. Just wanted to say that you're totally entitled to your opinion. In terms of the logic of the things you're saying, it's really just all over the place, isn't it? Really too many absurdities to bear mentioning.&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px; text-align: justify;">Anyway, do you understand why people are reacting the way they are to your post? You've done a really excellent job of extolling your qualifications for being such a good sport when you're the butt of the joke, your commitment to cultural objectivity, and your knowledge of modern comedy. Then with all your accolades you say people who are offended shouldn't be. That's, like, totally not nice. You have mentioned at length that measuring overreaction is a difficult concept, but it would be plain naive of you to think that people might not get offended when something like this airs and then posts it on social media (it seems you're pining for the days when people really BELIEVED in their outrages and they came on paper and men were men and women were women). If your intention was to be deliberately hurtful then you achieved it, but I fear you think you've uncovered some modern truth. Anyway, intelligent readers here will be taking your opinion with a large grain of salt (you're uninformed and from the country in the world best as self-deprecation) so I wouldn't worry about their ire too much.</span><br /><br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px; text-align: justify;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px; text-align: justify;">So summarize for me what your opinion on the matter is. It seems to me if you had something valuable to say it wouldn't need all the qualifications to stand on its own. Are you just outrage weary?</span>&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px; text-align: justify;">Frankly, I agree with you. People do get offended too easily. It makes me sad when one of my outrage-junkie friends pops up on my newsfeed, both for the friend, and for the things that are going untalked about that are likely worse(?). I rather understand you moreso given the reactions in these comments above. They're uh, not well-measured for the most part. I doubt some of them even understand why they're offended, but that makes their offense no less real.</span></blockquote>What an excellent comment and an example of how to conduct yourself when you disagree with someone. Now I disagreed with much of what he said, obviously, but this is how to criticise someone. &nbsp;The interesting thing was he received a response of disgust to this comment, here it is:<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px; text-align: justify;">(Anon)Eric,</span></blockquote><blockquote><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px; text-align: justify;">Do you have ANY experience or insight with being adopted from Korea. If not, then keep your judgements to yourself about whether someone else's offense is valid or not, someone who KNOWS and has lived the experience.&nbsp;</span></blockquote><blockquote><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px; text-align: justify;">Chris wrote a lengthy invalidation of people's offense over a topic and experience he admits to knowing very little about, and insults them by saying that he wasn't entertained. You're right, he's not nice and he's self-righteous, judgmental, arrogant, and ignorant. Very typical, like you.</span></blockquote><br />Now, I thought he was against me mainly and on the other side of the argument, but it seems even the most minor agreement with me is a subject for an overreaction and outrage. &nbsp;Here is what Eric said in reply and it turned out he was an adoptee too (oops!):<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px; text-align: justify;">Eric: @Anonymous... sigh... actually I am an adoptee. A typical one to be sure. I feel like on the internet it's the penultimate insult to call someone typical. I think, and I'm sure Christopher thinks that you've helped prove his point in your response. Is my opinion valid... now? In any case sorry for deviating. I know you're a shiny starlike beacon of hope and individuality in a sky of dead black bigotry, so I apologize to you and the community for... what? Disagreeing? Did I? Not sure. Anyway, I beg you shine on.</span></blockquote><br />Yep, I do think Anon helped prove my point for me.<br /><br />More in part 2.Smudgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00449129060365290678noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8154452806180550551.post-10583785478828713152014-03-12T21:57:00.000-07:002014-05-19T21:37:35.778-07:00Saturday Night Live Korea's Adoption Sketch: No Need for an Apology<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1w6Xa-eqavY/Ux-kn-xLe9I/AAAAAAAABpQ/Vhd9k71iIRY/s1600/anger-148968_640.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1w6Xa-eqavY/Ux-kn-xLe9I/AAAAAAAABpQ/Vhd9k71iIRY/s1600/anger-148968_640.png" height="320" width="304" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Outrage has become the insatiable hunger of our time in the West. &nbsp;People will step over their own mother to find it and show everyone they know what a morally well-rounded and high-class person they are. &nbsp;It has also become a way of winning arguments. 'I'm offended!' = discussion over, 'I win', and that is what passes for debating these days.<br /><br />I have found outrage is especially apparent when anyone criticises any non-Western culture (the weak ones that can't handle what we think), but sometimes criticism of Korean culture (I think many Westerners living in Korea think of Korean culture as inferior to theirs so they think it is wrong to criticise aspects of it) by expats is justified if it looks like Koreans are picking on a vulnerable group or people that are less strong than they are. &nbsp;Many of these criticisms are completely valid, but some are not.<br /><br />So, with this in mind, I am going to defend <a href="http://tvpot.daum.net/v/v6994kIuk85IbjjbZoTIi2y" target="_blank">those at Saturday Night Live Korea for their little comedy sketch</a>. (<a href="http://www.adoptionjustice.com/dear-snl-korea/" target="_blank">Translation here</a>). Not so much because I think it is really funny or a valid representation of adoptees, but because I am pretty sure I don't know enough and don't care enough to be outraged about it, and I get a little tired of misdirected and phony outrage. &nbsp;I'm guessing that I might be in the minority with this viewpoint though and what I say here might offend people.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>I Don't Know Enough</b></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>My wife and I have overcome many cultural differences to be the happily married couple we are today. &nbsp;We understand a great deal more about each other and our cultures than we used to. &nbsp;However, one of those things we just have to accept is that she just doesn't get British humour and I don't get Korean humour. &nbsp;This doesn't mean I can't make her laugh, but it does mean that when I watch Korean comedy - in film or on TV - it is simply not funny to me most of the time, even when I get the jokes, and the same goes, vice-versa, for her with British comedy.<br /><br />This is because comedy is often (not always of course) very subtle and the elements that come together to produce a sketch, a program, or a movie are derived from a close cultural understanding of language (which even a fairly fluent speaker might not be able to pick up on), the history of the subject being made fun of (either as a country, in society, or even in previous TV programs or in films), and the cultural context. <br /><br />For instance, I have heard that the skit in question on SNL is actually making fun of a specific TV program that used to run in Korea and Korean dramas where they used the subject of adoption (quite possibly many times) and airport meetings of adoptees and their real parents as a subject for melodramatic shows of emotion (cue the tears and piano music). &nbsp;Most foreigners living in Korea would not have known this and probably most adoptees - who had not spent much time in Korea - wouldn't have known this either.<br /><br />I find it ironic that many of the same people I see criticising foreigners who complain about Korean culture for 'Not knowing enough' (on some pretty black and white cultural issues), are slamming SNL in exactly the same way. &nbsp;They don't get it, they don't know enough. &nbsp;All they see is an attack on adoptees, but if you watch the video again with the above explanation in mind, it paints an entirely different picture.<br /><br />I don't blame adoptees for getting upset, but I do believe those that became outraged misunderstood the sketch and overreacted.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2013/dec/18/graeme-swann-facebook-rape-comment" target="_blank">In a similar case, but not involving comedy, an England cricketer (Graeme Swann) remarked to his brother on Facebook - a few months ago - that England got 'arse raped' by Australia in their test series after losing the 3rd match. </a>&nbsp;The PC brigade managed to find this remark and spread it around social media and rape charities in the UK were angered about it and demanded an apology. &nbsp;It was simply an off the cuff remark of a disappointed man in a message to his brother (in a very common British colloquialism), but he had to apologise nonetheless. &nbsp;It feels wrong to condemn rape charities for overreacting doesn't it? After all, unless you have been raped how can you really know what they are going through, so surely it was irresponsible of Graeme Swann to say what he did. &nbsp;Perhaps he shouldn't be quite so profane in his everyday language, but was it deserving of such outrage?<br /><br />Rape is a disgusting crime and we should have the greatest sympathy for people who have gone through it, but that doesn't mean these people didn't overreact, it was a ridiculous reaction given the circumstances.<br /><br />Although this is not comedy, I think a similar situation has occurred with the SNL sketch; outrage gets magnified as it's spread around social media and it becomes very difficult to take a step back and see that it isn't really that outrageous. &nbsp;Much graver misfortunes are made light of in comedy all the time.<br /><br /><b>Examples of 'Insensitive' Comedy Shows/Movies and Characters</b><br /><b><br /></b><b>Family Guy&nbsp;</b>- Joe Swanson is wheelchair bound and jokes are regularly made of his situation. &nbsp;Most of us cannot possibly know what it is like for people who can't use their legs, so it is not a fit subject for comedy.<br /><br /><b>Only Fools and Horses (UK)</b>&nbsp;- Delboy and Rodney are brothers live together with their Grandad in low-level poverty in central London. &nbsp;Their mother died when they were young and their father left them. &nbsp;They live from day to day by making dodgy deals and selling tat at the local market and to their friends. &nbsp;Many of us cannot possibly know what it is like to lose a mother when young or have their father abandon them or live in such poor circumstances, so it is not a fit subject for humour. &nbsp;How can we laugh at their troubles?<br /><br /><b>The Life of Brian </b>- A man called Brian is worshipped like Jesus and is eventually crucified. &nbsp;Since we all have never been crucified (I hope) how can we find this a fit subject for humour? &nbsp;And singing a jaunty song while on the cross!! &nbsp;Disgusting.<br /><br /><b>Hot Fuzz</b>&nbsp;- a London based cop gets more than he bargained for when he is transferred to a sleepy village when murders, disgusied as accidents, occur on a frequent basis. Since I and none of my family or friends have ever been murdered, this is not a fit subject for humour, I cannot possibly understand what murder victim's families must feel when they watch this film, it trivialises death and murder. &nbsp;Ban it.<br /><br /><b>Seasame Street</b>&nbsp;- Oscar the Grouch is clearly homeless and the Cookie Monster is clearly coping with a powerful food addiction. &nbsp;How on earth we can all make light of such situations is crazy. &nbsp;And it is a show for children! &nbsp;Most of us have no idea what it is like to be homeless or have a strong addiction, again, this is not a fit subject for humour!! Pull the show from TV before more young minds get corrupted!<br /><br />The disabled, parentless families, people in poverty, people being tortured and crucified to death, murder victims and their families, homelessness, and addiction, all being used as subjects for comedy in very very popular TV shows and movies. &nbsp;Should we all be disgusted with ourselves? &nbsp;Or would that be an overreaction?<br /><br />I could have given a number of other examples. &nbsp;The point is that there are many unfortunate situations we will never truly understand, many that are much worse than the subject of adoption. &nbsp;Intelligent people can see comedy is comedy and making light of hardships is sometimes a necessary part of life and this in no way detracts from our ability to empathise with real people embroiled in really heart-achingly sad and difficult situations.<br /><br />Personally, I can see how the SNL Korea sketch could be funny, it made me giggle at some points, but has it changed my perception of adoptees in any negative way whatsoever? Absolutely not. Might it change or accentuate bad vibes in Korean people towards adoptees? &nbsp;I don't know, but I doubt it. &nbsp;Now let's say the government made a policy change that stopped the reunification of adoptees and their Korean parents or discriminated against them in some way; then I might be moved to some level of outrage.<br /><br />Comedy is comedy, and upsetting some people is its business sometimes, it tends to be funnier that way. Sometimes comedians step over the line, but the SNL sketch is nowhere near an example of that.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Understanding Comedy</b></span><br /><br /><br />I remember when some of us Brits got all upset by a Ricky Gervais comedy, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SP0ue95Stpk" target="_blank">'Life's Too Short'</a>, because people weren't sure if Gervais just using Warwick Davis to make fun of dwarves and midgets. &nbsp;But that's the thing with comedy, it is at its best when it is close to stepping across lines. <br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/SP0ue95Stpk?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0' /></div><br /><br />The day that comedians have to go the politically correct police (or Joe Blogger) for advice on how best to write a comedy sketch, we really will live in a dull, humourless world.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Making Fun of Language Ability</b></span><br /><br />Another aspect of this sketch that I have found many people didn't like is the part that makes fun of the guy's Korean. &nbsp;Some of the foreign community are crying, 'Oh my god, they are probably making fun of me when I speak Korean!' <br /><br />So what if they are? &nbsp;My students make fun of the way I say Korean words sometimes, I just laugh and jokingly say, 'Shut-up' or 'You wanna punch in the face?', which they find quite funny. &nbsp;A sure way of getting them to continue making fun of me would be to act all hurt and angry about it. &nbsp;Making fun of your pronunciation; it's nothing, get over it and it's a guarantee people will continue to do it if they see it bothers you anyway. &nbsp;If it doesn't bother you, they just look silly when they do it.<br /><br />I remember a while ago my wife and I were watching a Korean film about a mentally handicapped man with a young daughter who got mistakenly accused of murdering a little girl. &nbsp;The way he spoke Korean bore a resemblance to the way I speak it and my wife noticed this and said so to her family and they made fun of me for it. &nbsp;My reaction was not to cry like a little sissy girl (or point out how mental illness is not a fit subject for a joke), I just had to take it on the chin and laugh along with it. &nbsp;It was quite funny, I did sound remarkably like him.<br /><br />Making fun of pronunciation or language ability can be annoying sometimes and frustrating if you are trying hard to learn a language, but come on everyone, mummy stopped holding your hand when you step out the house a long time ago, time to grow up, have a thicker skin, and get a sense of humour about yourself. &nbsp;Obviously no one likes to be heckled on the street about their language ability or generally bullied, but we are talking about a comedy show here. &nbsp;Are people really that fragile or so easily led?<br /><br /><br />In summary then, some might say I am getting outraged over people getting outraged, but no, not really. &nbsp;I am just tired of them making life less fun for us all and sitting on top of their throne of moral superiority and not admitting that a huge reason people get upset about stupid things like this is to help inflate their already sizable egos and make themselves feel important or special. <br /><br />I am not innocent in this regard either, to write a blog in the style of this one, you have to have a bit of an ego, and I am sure my ego does leak into my blogs from time to time, but at least I don't require a sense of humour transplant.<br /><br />As for the adoptees themselves who were offended by it, of course they can take offense to it and they can voice their feelings, but I think they need not, and in my opinion I think it is pretty lame. &nbsp;There are a million hardships we will never fully understand that people suffer from and to erase every one of these situations from comedy is not only impossible, but would make the world a very boring place indeed. Somethings are truly damaging or irresponsible - like using a <a href="http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/culture/2014/02/201_150883.html" target="_blank">blackface gag in a Sunday afternoon family comedy show</a> - but do we really think any harm will come, any rights trampled upon, or any prejudices enhanced by SNL Korea's mildly controversial sketch involving the issue of adoption? Surely not.<br /><br />This has nothing to do with people demanding censorship, by the way, this is simply me reacting to the outrage produced. &nbsp;People are totally within their rights to voice their outrage, as I am within my rights to say it's stupid.<br /><br />Anyway, <a href="http://www.allkpop.com/article/2014/03/snl-korea-apologizes-for-their-controversial-skit-on-korean-adoptees" target="_blank">SNL Korea have apologised</a>, so let's hope this makes people happy (I won't hold my breath).<br /><br /><br /><b>Note</b>: &nbsp;A commenter very fairly asked where I looked for reaction to the SNL sketch. <a href="http://roboseyo.blogspot.kr/2014/03/snl-korea-what-hero-korean-adoptee.html" target="_blank">Roboseyo's blog first got my attention</a> and I followed many of his sources as well as doing my own searches. &nbsp;I'm afraid some reactions on social media are now lost, but here are some other links that I read from:<br /><br /><a href="http://peaceshannon.tumblr.com/">http://peaceshannon.tumblr.com/</a><br /><a href="http://www.adoptionjustice.com/">http://www.adoptionjustice.com/</a><br /><a href="http://iamkoream.com/snl-koreas-offensive-adoptee-sketch-draws-protests/">http://iamkoream.com/snl-koreas-offensive-adoptee-sketch-draws-protests/</a><br /><a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/korearealtime/2014/03/11/saturday-night-live-faces-backlash-for-adoptee-parody/">http://blogs.wsj.com/korearealtime/2014/03/11/saturday-night-live-faces-backlash-for-adoptee-parody/</a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Smudgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00449129060365290678noreply@blogger.com64tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8154452806180550551.post-17803256885564892082014-03-01T14:27:00.000-08:002014-03-02T18:12:37.147-08:00Why does it Happen? Some Korean Cultural ConclusionsIt has come to my attention that foreigners in Korea (including me) often use cultural explanations for much of the behaviour that can be seen by Korean people and also sometimes draw conclusions from it. &nbsp;Why is that?<br /><br />There will be a significant number of people who will chalk it down to prejudice or a lack of understanding, and to be fair in some people, and with some issues, this may very well be the case. &nbsp;However, the story is not a simple as that. &nbsp;In my opinion, there are obvious traits about Korean culture that stand-out and that guide us to cultural conclusions, and these are very often the right ones. &nbsp;Let's go through a few and I will highlight the simplified cultural explanation (SCE) and see if there is any truth to it:<br /><br /><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">Plastic Surgery</span></b><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dECKOzSj_7E/Uw2Uax2miEI/AAAAAAAABoQ/veShN6j70wI/s1600/plastic+surgery.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dECKOzSj_7E/Uw2Uax2miEI/AAAAAAAABoQ/veShN6j70wI/s1600/plastic+surgery.jpg" height="233" width="320" /></a></div><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b><b><br /></b>It is pretty undeniable that there is a bit of an obsession with plastic surgery in Korea, but why is that?<br /><br /><b>SCE: </b>Koreans want to change their appearance to look more White Western.<br /><br />Now, of course, this is not entirely true; Koreans have many home-grown reasons for valuing things, like pale skin, for example, and appearance is obviously important to many people regardless of what they are from. &nbsp;But the coincidence between two of the more popular surgeries (nose and eye-lid) and a White Western appearance cannot be over-looked, as well as the admiration for White models. &nbsp;I notice peculiar things like White Western models plastered over posters for all manner of things and I find it hard to believe that this would happen in, say, England in reverse with lots of Asian models, even though England is more culturally diverse.<br /><br />My wife also believes that many Korean women, in particular, admire a White Western look and this is one of the reasons why some of them choose to have plastic surgery, and she is always right.<br /><br /><b>My Conclusion: </b>Obviously, high rates of plastic surgery in Korea are not solely or even mainly motivated by a longing for a White Western look, but I believe it is a factor. &nbsp;Korean people look just fine to me (I married one!), they need not admire a White Western look, but many surely do.<br /><br /><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">Air Crashes</span></b><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LQKqUMV1EtQ/Uw2U-S0fL4I/AAAAAAAABoY/dXIj6g4R2Yc/s1600/airliner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LQKqUMV1EtQ/Uw2U-S0fL4I/AAAAAAAABoY/dXIj6g4R2Yc/s1600/airliner.jpg" height="228" width="320" /></a></div><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b><b><br /></b>I will be brief because I have covered this at some length before, <a href="http://smudgem.blogspot.kr/2013/07/culturalism-plane-crashes-and-ask.html" target="_blank">here</a>, <a href="http://smudgem.blogspot.kr/2013/12/a-culture-bias-in-reporting-of-korean.html" target="_blank">here</a>, and <a href="http://smudgem.blogspot.kr/2013/12/the-asiana-crash-korean-respect-culture.html" target="_blank">here</a>! &nbsp;This subject has animated me because hierarchical respect culture, in my opinion, is the worst aspect of Korean culture and is the part of the culture I have seen cause a lot of hardship, stress, and suffering on Korean people and at times I think can be dangerous.<br /><br /><b>SCE:</b>&nbsp;A suspicion of the involvement of Korean hierarchical respect culture in miscommunication in the cockpit is justified as a possible explanation for crashes of Korean airliners.<br /><br />The blanket assertion that Korean culture is the sole cause for crashes is wrong. &nbsp;And certainty in saying it is the cause before evidence is in, is also wrong. &nbsp;However, <a href="http://www.salon.com/2013/07/10/cnn_asks_if_koreas_hierarchical_culture_caused_crash/" target="_blank">there is some history regarding Korean airline crashes</a> and odd breakdowns in communication and pilot error. There is also the experience many people have of living in Korea and dealing with the extreme discomfort of talking to and questioning superiors and elders that most Koreans have (people in all countries experience this, but I believe that in Korea it is magnified). &nbsp;My wife once recanted a&nbsp;<a href="http://smudgem.blogspot.kr/2013/01/the-perils-of-respect-culture.html" target="_blank">tale of how this actually jeopardised a patient's life on the operating table</a> when she was a nurse and often speaks of a strong dislike for the rigidity of Korean respect culture in all relationships, but especially working relationships.<br /><br /><b>My Conclusion: </b>The everyday behaviour of Koreans, the logic of the hierarchical etiquette system, and previous history mean that it is justified to hypothesise/suspect Korean cultural involvement in plane crashes, when no clear mechanical fault is easily identifiable. &nbsp;This theorising can also rightly be attributed to Korean airlines, even though it is not often used as an explanation for crashes of airliners from other nations given the logic, history, and evidence involved.<br /><br /><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">Nationalism and Japan</span></b><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Lr8cAM1D-e0/Uw2VSW5OAFI/AAAAAAAABog/0FGxvVo35TM/s1600/Korea+japan.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Lr8cAM1D-e0/Uw2VSW5OAFI/AAAAAAAABog/0FGxvVo35TM/s1600/Korea+japan.png" height="213" width="320" /></a></div><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b><b><br /></b><b>SCE: </b>Koreans are so nationalistic and bitter they are overly petty and ridiculous about a range of issues involving Japan.<br /><br />I am mostly on Korea's side when it comes to issues with Japan. &nbsp;Many in the pro-Japanese camp will say they have apologised again and again, but Korea just doesn't take notice and they want Japan to beg and grovel. &nbsp;I happen to think, however, that the Japanese government are regularly insincere with their apologies and don't back apologies up with any action, as well as constant denials of obvious wrongdoings in the past. The "Comfort Women' issue is a perfect example of this. &nbsp;<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/01/world/asia/japan-to-review-apology-made-to-wwii-comfort-women.html?src=twr&amp;smid=tw-nytimesworld" target="_blank">And now the Japanese are even thinking of taking back an old apology</a>, they are clearly in the wrong and Koreans are right to be upset about their handling of the 'Comfort Women' situation.<br /><br />The problem is, though, many Koreans appear to enjoy shooting themselves in the foot and alienating possible supporters by going over the top in their hatred of Japan and by constantly reminding everyone of why they are upset. &nbsp;Dokdo is a great example; the foreign community are just tired of hearing about it and we don't really care. &nbsp;I personally think that, as a gesture of goodwill for past misdeeds, the Japanese government could be gracious and hand it over to the Koreans, I am on the Korean's side in this. <br /><br />What turns me off, however, is the propaganda about Dokdo, especially to the young. &nbsp;I once saw a kids swimming tube with "Dokdo is our land" written all over it in a supermarket (I thought this was distasteful to say the least) and I know it is taught to kids in school. &nbsp;Nationalistic passions and hatred are stirred-up in the young about the subject and I find this must be unhelpful in building better ties with Japan in the future and coming to an amicable agreement. &nbsp;Teach Kids about history, sure, but there is no need to bring a political issue of land ownership into the minds of often young children.<br /><br /><b>My Conclusion: </b>Yes, the Japanese are essentially to blame, are quite snidy, and they seem to do their best to rile South Korea, but by continually stirring-up hatred of the Japanese (particularly in the young) and by refusing to take any moral high-ground and do any forgiving whatsoever, &nbsp;it is all a god-awful mess of sometimes quite daft and petty nationalism, the kind no one around the world wants to be seen choosing sides on or getting involved in.<br /><br /><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">Nationalism and Sport</span></b><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-P-o5VBanCGE/Uw2Vv1NjvZI/AAAAAAAABoo/ormIZeZJ4X8/s1600/Korea+olympic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-P-o5VBanCGE/Uw2Vv1NjvZI/AAAAAAAABoo/ormIZeZJ4X8/s1600/Korea+olympic.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Matt May&nbsp;<span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 19.200000762939453px; text-align: start;">http://www.flickr.com/photos/35237094679@N01/4357288771/</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><b>SCE: </b>Koreans are sore losers in the international sports arena and are prone to influencing officials or being unfair if they see a chance they can win.<br /><br />One should be careful not to discriminate to all individuals when using cultural explanations, and this is a perfect example. &nbsp;Kim Yun Ah (legend), for instance, was a class apart and incredibly gracious in accepting her silver medal in the Sochi Olympics, despite what many thought was a dubious and unjust judgement. &nbsp;The public reaction, however, although admittedly better than in the past, was still rather obsessive. &nbsp;<a href="http://busanhaps.com/article/korean-netizens-crash-changeorg-website-protesting-figure-skating-decision" target="_blank">An estimated 90% of the 1.5 million signatures on change.org, (now about 2 million), for example came from Koreans.</a> When you think of all the great injustices of the world that languish behind a figure skating decision, it is pretty telling of an inability to move on and maybe taking a sporting event a fraction too seriously. &nbsp;Also at Sochi, there were online threats to a British skater who mistakenly took out a Korean medal favourite in the speed skating. &nbsp;I couldn't imagine the same situation occurring with the fans of most other countries.<br /><br />On the impartiality side of things, it has to be noted that <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJYBV9BXQNY" target="_blank">one of the worst examples of cheating in any games by a host nation was in Seoul in 1988</a> (explained in <a href="http://smudgem.blogspot.kr/2014/02/cosmic-justice-in-sochi.html" target="_blank">last week's post</a>). &nbsp;<a href="http://espnfc.com/world-cup/story/_/page/worldcup101-03242010/ce/us/ten-most-controversial-moments&amp;cc=4716?ver=global" target="_blank">In 2002 also, there were question marks raised about Korea's route to a surprise semi-final</a>. &nbsp;So the last two major international sporting events in Korea = two major sporting controversies and accusations of unfair officiating, one blatant and one slightly more arguable. &nbsp;It doesn't mean anything like that will definitely happen in Pyeongchang in 2018, but I think some suspicion is justified when you combine past history, the still high level of nationalism in Korea, and the overreaction generally to international sporting failures and the over-importance of sporting success.<br /><br /><b>My Conclusion: </b>Korea as a nation do appear a little preoccupied with proving themselves in the sporting arena and this means they will undoubtedly come under the spotlight when they host sporting events. &nbsp;Only a clean Pyeongchang in 2018 will allay suspicions and Korea have a chance to prove the doubters wrong in 4 years time.<br /><br /><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">Koreans in the Way</span></b><br /><b><br /></b><b>SCE: </b>Koreans have no spatial awareness and no manners and that is why they bump into others and get in our way.<br /><br />Personal space manners, I believe, are a manifestation of cultures based around the individual, like those in Western countries. &nbsp;As a visitor to Korea, one must accept that many Koreans will not place such a high regard on personal space because of this. Manners are also different from place to place; there are probably many examples of Korean people thinking Westerners are very bad mannered too.<br /><br />That said, there are times when giving personal space is practically important and when it is not done can cause major problems and unfairness. &nbsp;I see driving in Korea as an example of this and queuing also. &nbsp;An acceptance of the culture does not mean that we aren't sometimes majorly inconvenienced and even put in danger by such a lack of spatial etiquette. <br /><br />To give a couple of anecdotes; I have been playing squash for about 20 years or so and have played thousands of games without a major incident. &nbsp;In 4 years of living in Korea, and playing only a handful of matches in that time, I managed to get one of my teeth knocked-out by a Korean player's wild dangerous swing (a high standard player who should have known better). &nbsp;I also had a friend from orientation who was knocked down on a bus by a pushy Ahjuma and briefly lost consciousness because he fell so hard he hit his head (he's quite a big guy too, it must have taken some shove). &nbsp;This sort of thing appears to be a common foreigner gripe in Korea. <br /><br />Accidents can happen anywhere, but is it just a coincidence these happened in Korea?<br /><br /><b>My Conclusion: </b>The accusation of a lack of spatial awareness maybe over-simplified and insulting, but there probably does need to be some general improvement in matters regarding personal space manners and awareness in some of the Korean population for reasons of safety, practicality, and fairness.<br /><br /><br />These are examples of generalised conclusions and opinions about groups of people, i.e. Korean people. &nbsp;I personally don't think there is anything wrong with this and I would be perfectly open to accepting any of the many negative aspects of British culture also and their explanatory power in how many British people act. But one must be careful not to discriminate and draw conclusions about every person you meet. &nbsp;It is unfair, immoral, and stupid for example, to judge the next Korean person you meet who has had plastic surgery as wanting to look like a White Westerner. <br /><br />People are complex and they are individuals and must be treated as such, everyone should have equal value and equal rights. &nbsp;However, culture can and does affect individual's behaviour and real patterns can be observed and conclusions drawn in certain situations. &nbsp;It is popular to deny that this is the case and sometimes to insinuate racism against people who think it (but only when conclusions are drawn about non-Western cultures in my experience), but just because it's popular doesn't make it true.<br /><br /><br />Smudgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00449129060365290678noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8154452806180550551.post-57693626025265330162014-02-22T15:24:00.002-08:002014-02-22T15:24:49.403-08:00Cosmic Justice in Sochi?<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GI6CALhjF8s/UwiGvX-pzGI/AAAAAAAABng/NA6MgTK8x_I/s1600/Kim_2013_World_Championship_FS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GI6CALhjF8s/UwiGvX-pzGI/AAAAAAAABng/NA6MgTK8x_I/s1600/Kim_2013_World_Championship_FS.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 19.200000762939453px; text-align: start;">David W. Carmichael&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19.200000762939453px;">http://davecskatingphoto.com/</span></span></span></td></tr></tbody></table>So it seems Kim Yun Ah <a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/olympics-fourth-place-medal/petition-to-investigate-adelina-sotnikova-s-figure-skating-gold-medal-over-yuna-kim-already-over-1-25-million-signees--breaks-site-records-083114477.html" target="_blank">may have been cheated out of retaining her Olympic crown in the figure skating</a>. Adelina Sotnikova could have had some home help from the judges to push the 'Ice Queen' into silver instead of the much anticipated gold that the Korean public demanded and felt she deserved. But it wasn't just the Korean public, apparently many observers from a range of different countries were confounded by the judges scoring.<br /><br />On the other hand, there were some people who thought that&nbsp;<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/02/20/sports/olympics/womens-figure-skating.html?_r=0" target="_blank">Sotnikova had a more difficult routine </a>and therefore scored more points despite a minor - but what appeared crucial - mistake during her performance.<br /><br />In the wake of this controversy, everyone has become an expert figure skating judge, one way or the other. I myself, don't have a damn clue about how to score a figure skating routine. &nbsp;From my perspective, Kim Yun Ah's routine looked flawless and beautiful and better than Sotnikovas (and Sotnikova's certainly not 5 points better), but what do I know? Nothing, absolutely nothing. &nbsp;My thoughts don't matter regarding who actually won.<br /><br />With this in mind then, let's assume, for the sake of argument, the decision was a scandalous one and that the Russians fixed the whole thing and cheated Kim Yun Ah and the Korean public. &nbsp;If this is the case, it's wrong, annoying, and an example of sporting injustice. &nbsp;But what about cosmic justice?<br /><br />I find it slightly ironic that Korea's number one sports star, and someone whose performances mean so much to the country, may have fallen foul to a controversial home bias decision at an Olympics. &nbsp;Why? &nbsp;Because one of the <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2012/feb/15/olympic-moments-roy-jones-jr" target="_blank">most blatant examples of home advantage cheating at any Olympics</a> was perpetrated by the Koreans themselves at the Seoul Olympics in 1988 when Roy Jones Jnr fought Korean Park Si Hun for gold in boxing. &nbsp; You can see the full fight and judge for yourselves below:<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/KMa4nGf9hSY?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0' /></div><br /><br />Now, I'm not a boxing judge either, but this fight was the equivalent of a figure skater falling 5 times in a routine and still winning the gold in the face of an almost perfect performance by a competitor. &nbsp;Everyone knows that this decision was highly motivated by what many Koreans thought were bias decisions by American judges at the Los Angeles Olympics in the boxing 4 years earlier. &nbsp;The history is well summed up over at&nbsp;<a href="http://populargusts.blogspot.kr/2013/09/an-attack-in-boxing-ring.html" target="_blank">Gusts of Popular Feeling</a>, along with some other issues regarding boxing at the games.<br /><br />It is one thing getting even by a little cheating in a contentious, closely fought fight, but the obviously fraudulent decision in the Roy Jones fight was shameful and reflected badly on Korea.<br /><br />Swings and roundabout then, and it seems rather apt that many Korean people feel cheated by the judges in Sochi, some might say it couldn't happen to a more deserving country.<br /><br />It is tempting to think this way and to believe cosmic justice has been done. &nbsp;But personally, I do not believe in justice of this kind. &nbsp;If something was wrong then it was wrong. &nbsp;If it was done dishonestly, then that is even worse. &nbsp;And I know one thing for certain; if Kim Yun Ah really was the deserving winner and she has really been cheated out of a gold medal, then she does not deserve it, forget about Korea as a country.<br /><br />The revenge aspect of the 1988 decision with Roy Jones is also something any right-minded person or Olympic organisers in a country would steer clear of. &nbsp;One hopes - but does not expect - that Russian athletes will be treated fairly in 4 years time when Korea hold the next Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang in 2018. &nbsp;Unfortunately, the likelihood is that if a Korean ends up battling a Russian for a gold medal in an important event (especially the figure skating), Korean organisers may see it as an opportunity for retribution. Let's hope this is not the case.<br /><br />An Olympics of any kind presents both opportunities to flourish and fail for the host nation. &nbsp;These days, it seems, people are waiting for what a country will do wrong in the lead-up to an Olympic games. &nbsp;In Russia's case, there were question marks about morality (<a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2549977/Russians-culling-stray-dogs-Sochi-Winter-Olympics-dont-way-events.html" target="_blank">think stray dogs</a>), of the <a href="http://mashable.com/2014/01/21/olympics-construction-sochi/" target="_blank">construction of the venues</a>, and the general organisation. &nbsp;In London 2012 for the summer Olympics, questions were being raised before the start about the competency of security and of problems with dated infrastructure and poor transport. &nbsp;In Pyeongchang in 2018, the worry will be fairness and impartiality. &nbsp;Can South Korea, a country with a fiercely nationalistic mindset (<a href="http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20140221000966" target="_blank">it was about 90%&nbsp;Koreans who managed to crash the change.org site</a>, and all for figure skating!) manage to not interfere with the results of events? &nbsp;The temptation for revenge was too great in 1988, so will it get the better of them 30 years later as well?<br /><br />It will be a test for the character of a nation and it is an opportunity for Korea as a country to show they are above this kind of skulduggery and insecurity now. &nbsp;They now understand the burn of being cheated like Roy Jones Jnr. &nbsp;I hope they can react to Kim Yun Ah's disappointment in the best possible way, rise above it in four years time and do their best to be fair to all athletes who have trained so hard for the chance to be Olympic champions. &nbsp;They and the world demand that they be judged on their performances, not on where they were born.<br /><br />Smudgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00449129060365290678noreply@blogger.com31